Welcome to Independent Living
Providing free information and advice for over 22 years.
Independent Living – the place for impartial information about products and services to help with mobility and independence.
Whoever you are – OT, physio or other health professional, family carer, individual with a disability, Independent Living can provide the advice you need.
Keep up-to-date with the latest information by subscribing for our free weekly newsletter. You can read the latest issue online here, and sign up for your own copy here.
If you are looking for products, the drop-down menu above will take you to a full range of aids to daily living, mobility and independence, grouped together in categories. Products for professional users, such as care home furniture, hoists, postural and pressure management systems, are similarly grouped. Just follow the links under “Independent Living Buyers Guide” or “Professional Buyers Guide”
News Centre
The newscentre, also linked from the menu above, includes case studies, new product focus, industry news, podcasts, guest blogs, and our newsletter archives. For advice on various aspects of living with a disability or caring for someone who cannot live independently, including information on benefits; legislation; keeping warm and well; fall prevention; and generally coping with being a carer, the Advice Centre is the place to look.
Independent Living Newsletter
Our weekly roundup of news highlights the latest developments of interest to health and social care professionals, family carers and disabled individuals, including new products and services, changes in legislation, etc. You can read the current and archived issues online here, and sign up to receive your own copy by email here
What's New
Motability funding for SIA travel project SIA (Spinal Injuries Association) has been awarded a grant of £800,000 from the Motability Foundation to fund their ‘SCI Travel Confidence Project’. The two-year [...]
Mastering seating assessments for children and paediatric patients Independent Living subscriber Vivid Care has a useful webinar coming up next Tuesday, 26th March. Mastering Seating Assessments for children and paediatric [...]
Moving CP up the agenda in an election year Sadly, it remains the case that while children with cerebral palsy are relatively well supported, for adults the situation is much [...]
A growing need for new ways of working This post has been contributed by TACT (Trusted Assessor and Care Training) Many older and disabled people across the UK experience delays [...]
Carer’s Credit is an important benefit for any carer, as it helps fill gaps in the National Insurance record which come about when caring responsibilities prevent full-time work. It has [...]
Please note that new claims for Severe Disablement Allowance are not accepted – it has been replaced by Employment and Support Allowance (ESA). This page is for information purposes for [...]
Disabled Students Allowance – help with extra costs Students with a disability, mental or physical; long-term condition; or learning difficulty can apply for a Disabled Students’ Allowance to help with [...]
Widowed Parent’s Allowance has been replaced for new claimants by Bereavement Support Payment This benefit is dealt with by Job Centre Plus – you can find your local office here The [...]
Your social services department can arrange a short stay in a residential care or nursing home if it will help you or someone who cares for you. This may be [...]
What is Statutory Sick Pay? This benefit is paid by your employer. Any disputes are handled by HMRC. If you think you have been wrongly refused SSP, or the amount [...]
Personal Independence Payment (PIP) is the benefit paid to people between 16 and 64 to help with the extra costs of living with a disability or long-term health condition. PIP [...]
Pension credit tops up low incomes for older people It is estimated that 850,000 pensioner households are not claiming the Pension Credit they are entitled to. According to the Department [...]
This benefit is dealt with by The Pension Service. What is the Over 80 Pension? This is for people aged 80 or over with little or no state pension. Can [...]
Jobseeker’s Allowance is dealt with by Job Centre Plus or Job Centre – you can find your local office here. There is a lot of information in this section. Use these quick [...]
What does this mean? How does it work? Who gets help? How can the money be used? How well does it work in practice? Dr Christine Barton – a case [...]
You can no longer make a new claim for Income Support. If you’re on a low income and need help with living costs, you should apply for universal credit. [...]
Since January 2011, you can no longer claim Incapacity Benefit (IB) Instead, it is been replaced by Employment and Support Allowance for new claimants. If you are already receiving IB, you [...]
This is not a benefit, but a scheme that helped you protect your basic State Retirement Pension, between 1978 and 5th April 2010. You can still claim for previous years, [...]
This is an NHS scheme, your local Jobcentre Plus Office can confirm entitlement to the benefit. What is it? • Help with the cost of your fares or petrol when [...]
Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) is dealt with by Job Centre Plus. Update March 2023 The High Court has ruled in favour of claimant, Michael Connor, who is also a law [...]
