Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what financial support is available to people spending more than 21 hours per week in education who are the principal carers for elderly relatives with a disability.

People in full-time education, including those with caring responsibilities, are not normally entitled to benefits. Rather they are supported through the educational maintenance system, via its range of loans and grants. Support may also be available through local councils and health services.

Students undertaking a part-time course have access to carer related benefits in the usual way.

People with a disability can claim benefits in their own right in order to meet their needs. Depending on individual circumstances, such financial support can be through universal, extra costs benefits and/or means-tested benefits. Means-tested benefits, such as Pension Credit, include an additional amount for people with a severe disability (currently £61.85 a week for a single person) which can be paid to a disabled person to help meet the costs of caring if their carer is not receiving Carer’s Allowance.