Under the current arrangements, payment of disability allowance is not affected where the recipient goes into hospital or residential care, whether on a short-term or long-term basis.
A person providing full-time care and attention to a recipient of disability allowance may receive the carer's allowance. It may be affected if the person requiring such care must go into hospital or another residential care facility.
A carer can continue to be regarded as providing full-time care and attention where the person requiring the care is undergoing medical treatment in hospital or another institution for a period of up to 13 weeks in any one year. This measure enables a disabled person to undergo medical treatment of a short-term nature without affecting the entitlement of the person caring for them. It also affords carers the opportunity to make the necessary arrangements to return to work or apply for a more appropriate income support payment where they are no longer required to provide full-time care and attention because the disabled person must remain in hospital or residential care in the long term.
