Uni, DSA & IB help needed

the_devil_made_me_do_it

Don't you have to have carers ect to be entitled to DLA?? He's never even thought about claiming it.

Oldernotwiser

the_devil_made_me_do_it wrote: »

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.

The 16 hours are not contact time but study time so any full time course will be more than this.

the_devil_made_me_do_it

There is no rule which says you cannot get Incapacity Benefit (IB) while you are studying.

Sometimes JobCentre Plus staff will assume, if you study, that you are also capable of work. But a decision about your benefit should only be made after looking at your individual circumstances. Many courses are in fact very different from employment.

Some of the most common differences are:

Flexibility
On many courses there is a lot of flexibility in how you work. For example, if you miss one day you can catch up. You can plan your own study methods and timetable around your individual needs.

Support arrangements
Your college or university may make adjustments to the course to make it easier to follow or you may receive extra support or equipment.

Tasks involved
Your course may involve different tasks rather than the usual physical ones such as standing, walking, carrying etc. which are assessed for benefit purposes.

Please note there are different criteria for people with mental health difficulties.

Hours involved
The amount of time per week spent studying in lectures, classes and seminars may be much less than in paid employment. Even full-time courses may only involve 16 hours per week.

Pressure
You may feel less pressure when studying compared to working. For example, you do not have to perform for other people. This is more likely to be a factor if you have mental health difficulties.


You should be eligible to claim Housing Benefit as a full-time student if you have been incapable of work for 28 weeks and/or get IB at the long-term rate. However, your income will be taken into account, including the available student loan (whether you take it out or not), so it is not possible for us to do an individual calculation.

Skill also has an information booklet called Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit for disabled students which can be accessed at https://www.skill.org.uk/info/infosheets/housing.doc

In your situation I think it would be worth seeing a trained benefits adviser at your local Citizen's Advice Bureau to help work out exactly what you will be entitled to.
http://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/index/getadvice.htm#txt_getadvice_header-Anchor-search

DSAs are not means-tested and will not have any effect on your benefits.

The other thing I would say is that you should apply to your Local Authority for the Special Support Grant (maximum of £2,765) instead of the usual maintenance grant for students from lower income households. The Special Support Grant has the advantage of not counting as income for the purposes of means-tested benefits.

Best regards

He had contacted a disability organization, and the above was the reply.

Hope this helps others too

freebie_junkie

i did exactly teh same thing last september, (i used to be on IB for OCD), you can continue to get IB is you are part-time and the LEA also pays your fees and gives you a yearly grant of £250, if you are full-time you can no longer recieve IB and must inform the benefits agency of teh commencement date of your course. you apply for DSA through teh LEA who initailly pay for an assesment to be done at teh uni and eth results of teh assesment will determine what kind of financial support you require (such as money towards books and a computer as my hygiene issues meant i couldnt use teh library or towards non-medical helpers such as a 'study budy' who helps you find your feet at uni) and also you can choose for a report to go to each of your tutors which avoids lots of embarrasment in tryign to explain to people who you dont know why you are how you are and any reasons for absences. the financial support isnt ever just money, it is always allowances for things and items such as books or computer consumables you buy first yourself and then take the reciepts to eth LEA who then process it and teh money goes into your bank account about 2 weeks alter. teh whole DSA process takes about 6 weeks to initiate but after eth first time, you dont need to be re-assessed every year, you just fill ina new form to say youre still on teh course etc.

the_devil_made_me_do_it

I get what ya saying freebie junkie, but my friend contacted Skill: National Bureau for Students with Disabilities, and I posted the reply in this thread. They seem to think he will get IB for being a full time student with mental health issues.

freebie_junkie

the_devil_made_me_do_it wrote: »

I get what ya saying freebie junkie, but my friend contacted Skill: National Bureau for Students with Disabilities, and I posted the reply in this thread. They seem to think he will get IB for being a full time student with mental health issues.

maybe eth rules have changed for 2007 admission, but when i went full time that were teh rules at teh time.

Oldernotwiser

This is the page from the Family Welfare Association which confrms what DMMDI says.

http://www.egas-online.org.uk/fwa/datapage.asp?ref=256

All the universities' information pages give the same advice.

the_devil_made_me_do_it

I don't know whether the rules have changed, never needed to look into it. But the email and the website make sense, that even tho' an individual is studying, it isn't the same as paid employment.

Crispy_Ambulance

freebie_junkie wrote: »

maybe eth rules have changed for 2007 admission, but when i went full time that were teh rules at teh time.

The rules are not that you cannot claim IB whilst studying - but some claim centres make it harder than others. Full time study is not the equivalent of full time work and there is no reason that full time students cannot claim IB as long as they meet all the criteria.

Crispy_Ambulance

the_devil_made_me_do_it wrote: »

Don't you have to have carers ect to be entitled to DLA?? He's never even thought about claiming it.

You don't have to be receiving the care, you just have to need it. Best thing would be for him to talk to a local CAB or the union advice centre as they can help him put in a claim.