Uni, DSA & IB help needed

the_devil_made_me_do_it

My friend is starting Uni in October 07.

At the moment he claims Incapacity Benefit because he has mental health issues.

He isn't aware of what to do about contacting the benefits agency regarding starting Uni, and claiming DSA.

He said he has read some where, that disabled students are entitled to receive their benefit, and student grants/loans are not affected by it.

I'm unsure too of his situation, so anybody who can offer advice of info would be appreciated.

Crispy_Ambulance

Students who are eligible for Incapacity Benefit (IB) can continue to claim while they are studying. Sometimes the local benefits office can be a bit difficult about it, so it would be a good idea for him to contact the student advice centre in the students' union of the uni he is going to.

He can still get all his other funding and if he is getting IB as opposed to Income Support (IS) on the grounds of Incapacity, as IB is not means tested, whereas IS is.

Disabled Students Allowance (DSA) is something different - it is paid through the LEA for specific course related help. The Disability support team at his uni should be able to help with that.

Best place to start would be the Students' Union Advice Centre

the_devil_made_me_do_it

Cheers crispy. I'll certainly let him know that.

Is he able to use the student facilities now? He has a conditional offer, so will only be going to Uni on the grounds he finishes and passes his present college course.

Crispy_Ambulance

Most student advice centres will advise prospective students, so he should get in touch with them.

the_devil_made_me_do_it

Right, he sent an email yesterday to his prospective uni, so hopefully they'll reply very soon.

dmg24

Would second the advice of Crispy Ambulance, the Disability Support Team at my uni have just assisted me in getting additional funding (though this was from the Access to Learning Fund rather than DSA, less paperwork and red tape).

parmaviolette

I'm at uni, and get IB and DLA for mental health problems. The main concerns of the DWP people are the number of hours at uni, and how uni is coped with (I think). If his course hours are above 16 hours a week, he might have difficulty claiming, as this is the same hours as the DWP's idea of full time work. Also, I miss a lot of my course because of my problems, and this was definitely a deciding factor in whether or not I got my benefits.

But - if he gets his IB taken away, he can go to his uni's access to learning fund, who should make up the difference. They did it for me in my first year. If he needs to do this, he should take along the letter from DWP saying about his IB to show them.

Financially, IB and student loan won't affect each other.

the_devil_made_me_do_it

I will let him know this parmaviolette. Sounds helpful.

Although it is a full time course he is starting, he hasn't got a timetable yet, so is very unsure of the hours he'll be attending uni. I would've thought, that he won't be there more than 16 hours per week.

How and when did you tell the IB section you were starting uni? He's very unsure of how to address this with the benefits agency. He dosen't claim DLA.

Do you claim HB and CT benefit??

Apologies for so many questions. You are welcome to PM me if you would prefer.

studentphil

It might be well worth looking at DLA if he is going to live away from home as he might need to cover living costs that he does not have at home.

the_devil_made_me_do_it

He is staying at home, the uni is just a short train ride away.

He lives in a housing association house at the mo, so he's in the best accomodation really for his needs.

studentphil

the_devil_made_me_do_it wrote: »

He is staying at home, the uni is just a short train ride away.

He lives in a housing association house at the mo, so he's in the best accomodation really for his needs.

There is no harm in applying for DLA because he might be judged to need it.