will I lose my benefits if I go back to college?

faust

Hi there,
Hoping someone might be able to help me with a few questions I have.
Bit of a long story but here goes...

Roughly 3 years ago I was diagnosed with severe clinical depression, social anxiety and agoraphobia amongst other things. I was unable to leave the house let alone work so I applied for income support and disability living allowance. I was initially turned down but with the help of my psychiatrist I made a successful application and was finally granted Disability Living Allowance and Income Support in October last year.
With the help of therapy and medication the social anxiety has improved to the point where I feel strong enough to enroll on a part time "access" course at college.
As I said the social anxiety has improved but the depression is still pretty bad and I don't think I could cope working and studying at the same time [I think it would be a recipe for mental breakdown number 2!]

So here is the quandary Im in. If I return to education will I lose my benefits? I dont have any other source of income and as mentioned above I dont think it would be wise for me to work so if I were to lose DLA and IS Im well and truly !!!!!!ed.

The second question is, if I do lose DLA and IS is there anything else I could recieve to help me pay for travel, class materials, food etc? I know of the adult learning grant but I dont think this money would cover my travel expenses to college and back let alone help me to pay for anything else!

Ive been dreaming about going back to studying for years and its taken a lot of hard work to get me to this point but if I have no money then...well I dont want to think about what will happen.

thanks in advance to anyone that can help to answer those questions, its much appreciated [although im scared of what the answers will be.]

student_advisor

Hi Faust

I have good news for you!

If you will be starting an Access course, you will be able to retain your income support and DLA (and any HB you get). Being in receipt of income support should also be enough to get fee remission for your course too.

You will not be entitled to the ALG as you cannot have this and income support at the same time.

You should contact your college and ask about the Learner Support Fund as they may be able to help with your travel costs and other course-related costs (for example, we would potentially pay you up to £400 towards your travel costs, up to 80% of your course costs and offer you meal vouchers if you were still struggling). Every college is free to set their own rules on how much they give out, but you will be in a priority group wherever you live.

Why not visit the student & money saving forum to chat to other would-be students?

faust

thank you so much! you have really put my mind at rest.

I'll definitely check out the student forum, I have a million and once things to ask!

once again, thank you, thank you, thank you!

student_advisor

No worries! I spend so much of my time telling potential students they qualify for absolutely nothing that it's great to be able to say there's money available!

mealone

faust wrote: »

Hi there,
Hoping someone might be able to help me with a few questions I have.
Bit of a long story but here goes...

Roughly 3 years ago I was diagnosed with severe clinical depression, social anxiety and agoraphobia amongst other things. I was unable to leave the house let alone work so I applied for income support and disability living allowance. I was initially turned down but with the help of my psychiatrist I made a successful application and was finally granted Disability Living Allowance and Income Support in October last year.
With the help of therapy and medication the social anxiety has improved to the point where I feel strong enough to enroll on a part time "access" course at college.
As I said the social anxiety has improved but the depression is still pretty bad and I don't think I could cope working and studying at the same time [I think it would be a recipe for mental breakdown number 2!]

So here is the quandary Im in. If I return to education will I lose my benefits? I dont have any other source of income and as mentioned above I dont think it would be wise for me to work so if I were to lose DLA and IS Im well and truly !!!!!!ed.

The second question is, if I do lose DLA and IS is there anything else I could recieve to help me pay for travel, class materials, food etc? I know of the adult learning grant but I dont think this money would cover my travel expenses to college and back let alone help me to pay for anything else!

Ive been dreaming about going back to studying for years and its taken a lot of hard work to get me to this point but if I have no money then...well I dont want to think about what will happen.

thanks in advance to anyone that can help to answer those questions, its much appreciated [although im scared of what the answers will be.]

Since you have improved in your agraphobia and socialphobiia you will need to inform the DLA center in Blackpool but that dosnt mean you will lose your DLA and you may actually need more help to study than you need currently.

I cant see you loseing your DLA which is what entitles you to IS but if you did you could claim income based employment and support allowance which has replaced incapacity benefit.

poet123

You should also ask if your College has an Inclusive Learning Dept, they can offer all kinds of support to Learners with difficulties. From one to one support in class, to out of class support, exam concessions etc, definitely worth ticking the box on the enrolment form.

zzzLazyDaisy

mealone wrote: »

Since you have improved in your agraphobia and socialphobiia you will need to inform the DLA center in Blackpool but that dosnt mean you will lose your DLA and you may actually need more help to study than you need currently..

Just to add to this - I am on DLA and last year I started working from home, just four hours a week. The DLA wrote to me with a form to fill in, so if that happens don't panic (likeI did!). They sent me a full renewal form, but also a single sheet of white paper, which said that if my needs had not changed, to sign and return it. In fact to be on the safe side, I enclosed a letter from my specialist that I had received that week, which was really comprehensive, so that was helpful.

kperks1988

faust wrote: »

Hi there,
Hoping someone might be able to help me with a few questions I have.
Bit of a long story but here goes...

Roughly 3 years ago I was diagnosed with severe clinical depression, social anxiety and agoraphobia amongst other things. I was unable to leave the house let alone work so I applied for income support and disability living allowance. I was initially turned down but with the help of my psychiatrist I made a successful application and was finally granted Disability Living Allowance and Income Support in October last year.
With the help of therapy and medication the social anxiety has improved to the point where I feel strong enough to enroll on a part time "access" course at college.
As I said the social anxiety has improved but the depression is still pretty bad and I don't think I could cope working and studying at the same time [I think it would be a recipe for mental breakdown number 2!]

So here is the quandary Im in. If I return to education will I lose my benefits? I dont have any other source of income and as mentioned above I dont think it would be wise for me to work so if I were to lose DLA and IS Im well and truly !!!!!!ed.

The second question is, if I do lose DLA and IS is there anything else I could recieve to help me pay for travel, class materials, food etc? I know of the adult learning grant but I dont think this money would cover my travel expenses to college and back let alone help me to pay for anything else!

Ive been dreaming about going back to studying for years and its taken a lot of hard work to get me to this point but if I have no money then...well I dont want to think about what will happen.

thanks in advance to anyone that can help to answer those questions, its much appreciated [although im scared of what the answers will be.]

Hi im in the same situation but i am on incapacity benefit and dla and i cant seem to find any support with funding for college. I'd like to go back to college as through my anxiety and depression i've never got any GCSE'S but i cant afford it as one GCSE course is £325. im also worried about losing my benefit as that would put me in an impossible situation. Some advice would be gratefully appreciated, thanks.