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This information is based on extracts from the www.ilf.org.uk website. You will find a full list of their information sheets by visiting the following link - ILF
The Independent Living Fund is made up of two separate Funds.
These two Funds are called The Independent Living (Extension) Fund and The Independent Living (1993) Fund.
You will receive your Fund payments from one Fund or the other. Which Fund you use will depend on when you first applied to the Fund.
1) The Independent Living (Extension) Fund makes payments to people who first applied before 31 March 1993. The Extension Fund is not open to new applications.
2) The Independent Living (1993) Fund was set up in 1993 and makes payments to people who applied after 1 April 1993. The 93 Fund is open to new applications.
Both Funds were set up by and receive their funding from central government. The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) is the government department that sponsors the Funds.
Both Funds are intended to support disabled people so they can live independently at home, rather than in residential care. The Funds make payments to disabled people so that they can afford to employ personal assistants (PA's), or a care agency, to provide the support that they need to remain at home.
If you are not sure about how the Fund's payments can be used, please telephone the Fund and a member of staff will be happy to help you. The telephone number is 0845 601 8815.
The Fund is provided to pay for the cost of employing personal assistants (PA's) or a Care Agency so that you can live independently at home.
The Fund is intended pay for personal and domestic care. This means that it can be used to pay PA wages or Care Agency costs for help with various personal and domestic tasks, such as:
• Bathing
• Toileting
• Washing
• Dressing
• Laundry
• Cooking
• Shopping
• Cleaning
• Other personal care or household tasks
If you need help with personal care when you are not at home, for example when socialising or at work, then payments from the Fund can sometimes be used for this too. However, payments cannot be used for socialising costs, for example cinema tickets or swimming admission, for either you or your PA
Payments from the Fund cannot be paid to a close relative acting as a PA if they live in the same house as the Fund user.
However, payments from the Fund can be used to pay a relative, so long as they do not live in the same house as you.
A close relative is generally defined as one of the following:
• Husband or wife
• Partner
• Parent, parent-in-law, step-parent
• Aunt, uncle, grandparent
• Son, daughter, son-in-law, daughter-in-law, or step-son or daughter
• Brother, sister, brother-in-law, sister-in-law, step-brother or sister
• Or the spouse or partner of any of the people listed above
Other things you can use the Fund for:
The cost of employing Personal Assistants (PA's) can be more than just paying their wages. If you employ a PA privately, as their employer you have certain responsibilities and costs you must meet. The following is a list of the type of thing that you may need to pay for:
• The cost of advertising and recruiting PA's
• Employers' Liability Insurance
• Tax and National Insurance Contributions for your PA, where there is a Pay As You Earn (PAYE) scheme in operation
• Payroll costs
• Holiday Pay for your PA
• Statutory Maternity or Sick Pay for your PA
• Some additional costs for live-in carers
Your Fund payments can be used to pay for these things, as they are associated with the cost of employing a PA.
Who is eligible?
To be able to get payments from the 93 Fund, which is the fund for all new applcaitions, the person applying must meet all of these conditions:
• They must be living in the UK
• They must be at least 16 years old and under 66 years old
• They must receive, or have an underlying entitlement to, the highest rate care component of Disability Living Allowance (DLA)
• They must receive support from their Local Authority Social Services Department, or Council with Social Services Responsibility, to the value of at least £200 per week
• They must have capital of less than £18,500
• They must expect to live independently at home for at least the next 6 months
Once the Fund has approved an award, there are strict rules about how the money can be used and what information you, the Fund user, need to give to the Fund. These rules and requirements are detailed in this leaflet, or in other leaflets produced by the Fund, and you must fulfil all of these rules and requirements in order to continue receiving payments.
Children and the 93 Fund
Children under 16 are not eligible to apply to the 93 Fund. This means that the Fund cannot pay money to help employ personal assistants to support children under 16 years of age.
In some circumstances, an organisation called the Family Fund Trust can help with grants for children under 16. The Family Fund Trust is based in York and can make grants for various things like holidays for disabled children or transport costs.
The current telephone number for the Family Fund Trust is -
0845 130 4542
How much will I get and how are they paid?
The Fund uses the cost of the care that you need to work out how much your payments should be each week. The final calculation depends on how much care you need.
The Fund makes your payments at the end of every 4 weeks, usually on a Monday.
This means that each payment you receive will be for the 4 week period that has just passed.
Maximum payments
If you are a user of the Extension Fund (you will be a user of this Fund if you started to get payments from the Fund before 1 April 1993), then the maximum payment you can receive is £715 per week.
Working out your payments on the number of hours you need
The Fund usually works out your payments according to the number of hours you need support for each week. We will look at the hourly cost of the support to work out how much the payment should be.
The hourly cost of the support that you need might be the hourly rate charged by an agency, or the hourly rate you pay a private carer or personal assistant (PA).
If you choose to employ a private carer or PA, please remember that the hourly rate you need to agree with the Fund will be more than you actually pay your PA because you will need to include extra money for things like tax, national insurance and holiday pay. (see the Payroll & Employment section for more information on tax and national insurance)
Taking your DLA into account
DLA stands for Disability Living Allowance. DLA is paid in two parts; the care component (for help with care throughout the day and night) and the mobility component (for help with getting around).
You must be getting the highest rate care component of DLA to qualify for payments from the Fund. If you stop getting the highest rate care component of DLA, you must tell the Fund at once.
How do I apply for them?
Applications can only be made by completing an ILF application form. You should be able to obtain one of these from your local authority social services department.
You can also download a copy of the application form to print out yourself.
Alternatively you can contact ILF Customer Services, and they will send you one directly with an information leaflet that gives information about the Fund.
How can I find out more?
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To speak to someone about your case: Ring the switchboard on 0845 601 8815. Tell the operator your name. You will be put through to the person who deals with your case, or, if they are not available, one of their colleagues. |
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To write to the Funds: You can write to the Funds at this address: Independent Living Funds PO Box 7525 Nottingham NG2 4ZT |
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To email the Funds: Before you email us please read our statement on email communication. You may also wish to read our privacy policy. |
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To fax us: 1993 Fund: 0115 945 0945 Extension Fund: 0115 945 0946 |
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Textphone: Please note this phone will not accept voice calls and should be used by Textphone users only. |
