Making sense of the Gobblydegook
| AA | Attendance Allowance – non means tested benefit for people who are over 65 years of age |
| APPOINTEE | Someone assigned by the Department of Works and Pensions to manage benefit claims and payments |
| BIA | Best Interest Assessor, a professional considering a Deprivation of Liberty Safeguard application |
| CA | Carers Allowance – non means tested benefit for people who are over 16 years and caring for more than 35 hours per week (earnings limits apply) |
| CB | Child Benefit is a payment that you can claim for your child, rules changed in 2012 affecting people who earn above £50’000 |
| CCG | Clinical Commissioning Groups organise the delivery of local NHS services in England |
| CHC | Continuing Healthcare is a package of care paid for by the CCG for a primary health need |
| COP | Court of Protection – appoints, regulates and administers Deputies who manage health/welfare and/or property/finance decisions in the best interest of someone who no longer has mental capacity to appoint an Attorney |
| CP | Carers Premium is an amount that may be added to a means tested benefit calculation if you have entitlement to Carers Allowance- even if you are not receiving the actual benefit payment. |
| CTB | Council Tax Benefit was replaced by Council tax Reductions. Support for Housing costs that is usually means tested apart from Council Tax exemptions and band reductions that may apply for example if someone has moved into permanent care, uses a wheelchair indoors or is living with a severe mental impairement |
| CTR | Council tax Reduction is the replacement for Council Tax Benefit |
| DLA | Disability Living Allowance is a non means tested benefit for someone with a care and/or supervision, mobility need. Abolished by Welfare Reform Act 2012 and replaced by Personal Independence Payment for people who are under 65 years or were receiving DLA and already 65 in April 2013 |
| DoL’s | Deprivation of Liberty safeguards. The Mental Capacity Act Deprivation of Liberty safeguards (formerly known as the Bournewood safeguards) were introduced into the Mental Capacity Act 2005 through the Mental Health Act 2007 to protect people from unlawful deprivation of their liberty. Due to be replaced by Liberty Protection Safeguards (LiPS) |
| DP | Direct Payments are a way of buying your own services with a personal budget provided by a Local Authority once they have assessed an eligible care need and/or provision |
| DPA | Deferred Payment agreements allows local authorities to defer permanent care home fees against a charge on property |
| DST | Decision Support Tool, this is used to help determine Continuing Healthcare eligibility |
| D2A | Discharge to Assess – The process for Hospital Discharge which may include short term funding |
| DWP | Department of Works and Pensions is the Government department responsible for welfare benefits/social security benefits |
| EPA | Enduring Powers of Attorney were replaced by Lasting Powers of Attorney. However, they may still be used if they were made and signed before October 2007 (without restrictions) when the Mental Capacity Act 20005 came into force. |
| ESA | Employment Support Allowance CB – Contribution Based (non means tested) and/or IB -Income Based (means tested) |
| GC | Guarantee Credit, an element of the means tested benefit Pension Credit for older people |
| HB | Housing Benefit, means tested help with housing costs |
| IB | Incapacity Benefit, non means tested benefit for those not able to work due to disability or illness (replaced by ESA) |
| IFA | Independent Financial Adviser – regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) |
| IIDB | Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit is for people who are disabled because of an accident at work, or who have certain diseases caused by their employed work (not self-employment) |
| IS | Income Support, means tested top up benefit replaced by Universal Credit |
| JCP | Job Centre Plus manages benefits for working age people |
| JSA | Jobseekers Allowance CB; Contribution Based/IB; Income Based benefit for people actively seeking work. Replaced by Universal Credit |
| LPA | Lasting Power of Attorney, brought in by Mental Capacity Act 2005 – came into force Oct 2007 providing for legal representation on another person’s behalf and in their best interest |
| LPS | The Liberty Protection Safeguards were introduced in the Mental Capacity (Amendment) Act 2019 and will replace the Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS) system from April 2022 |
| MASH | Multi Agency Safeguarding Hub |
| MCA | Mental Capacity Act 2007 |
| MDT | Multi-Disciplinary Team, a meeting of a number of professionals involved with a person\’s care is called an MDT. It is during one of these that CHC eligibility is discussed and a recommendation made to the CCG |
| OPG | Office of Public Guardian, manages the register of Attorney’s |
| OT | Occupational Therapist |
| PB | Personal Budget. This is the amount that the Local Authority has assessed an eligible care need to cost them should they be required to or choose to |
| PIP | Personal Independence Payment, a non means tested benefit for those with care and /or supervision needs, replaces DLA from April 2013 (Welfare Reform Act 2012) for people of a working age |
| PC | Pension Credit, a means tested benefit for people over the women’s state retirement pension age |
| SALT | Speech and Language Therapist |
| SECTION 117 | A section of the Mental Health Act 1983 which provides for FREE aftercare on Discharge |
| SC | Savings Credit. One of two parts to Pension Credit, you have to be over 65 for this part of the means tested benefit which changed in 2016 with the Pensions Act |
| SDP | Severe Disability Premium. The disability premium on a means tested benefit – Pension Credit |
| SDS | Self Directed Support. Designed to allow personalisation for care needs, a way for people to buy their care from their own choice of provider |
| SFC | Statement of Financial Circumstances. A form given/sent by Local Authorities to gather information required to assess a financial contribution |
| SRP/SP | State Retirement Pension/State Pension |
| UC | Universal Credit – Replaces means tested working age benefits, brought in by welfare Reform Act 2012 |
| WTC | Working Tax Credit, means tested for those in work on a low income (age and number of employed hour rules apply). Replaced by Universal Credit |
If this is overwhelming and you need some help to navigate the system and understand your options please get in touch
