Can you claim ESA for a 16 year old still in school ?

samanthag

Hi all
I have a 16 year old son who has special needs, he attends a special needs school and is statemented ect

someone mentioned to me that i should be claiming esa for him
is this correct ?

he gets high rate mobility and middle rate care DLA if that makes any difference.

i dont know anything about this esa and i have had a quick look on the dwp website but i dont really understand it

can anyone help or have any advice?

oh i should state he starts in the 6th form in his school in september

thanks in advance
sammy

duchy

Surely you are claiming child benefit for him so would be getting CTC with a disability element if you are also claiming DLA ? Why would ESA *also* be payable ??

ESA stands for Employment and Support allowance -as your son is in education rather than working it isn't applicable. And btw you can't claim ESA *for* anyone -It's an adult benefit so the claiment claims it in their own name for themselves-you can't be paid it FOR them

Flyboy152

duchy wrote: »

Surely you are claiming child benefit for him so would be getting CTC with a disability element if you are also claiming DLA ? Why would ESA *also* be payable ??

ESA stands for Employment and Support allowance -as your son is in education rather than working it isn't applicable. And btw you can't claim ESA *for* anyone -It's an adult benefit so the claiment claims it in their own name for themselves-you can't be paid it FOR them

Although mostly correct, if the "claimant" is unable to claim themselves, their proxy, guardian or carer can apply on their behalf.


Just being pedantic.

samanthag

duchy wrote: »

Surely you are claiming child benefit for him so would be getting CTC with a disability element if you are also claiming DLA ? Why would ESA *also* be payable ??

ESA stands for Employment and Support allowance -as your son is in education rather than working it isn't applicable. And btw you can't claim ESA *for* anyone -It's an adult benefit so the claiment claims it in their own name for themselves-you can't be paid it FOR them

i think you jumped down my throat a bit there i was only after some advice and you jumped to conclusions !!!

as the other poster has said my son is not able to claim by himself as he has no concept of money, cant read or write and i have the authority from the dwp to deal with anything on his behalf (someone has been out to see and me son to approve this)

and i was also told that he could claim this rather than me claim family allowance so he would benefit from this and not me

and also not everyone claims ctc i for one do not so no i dont have the disability element

i work full time and so does my husband this is why we dont claim

and also the only reason he is going into the 6th form is because there is no other option for him there is no way he can work because of his disabilities

hope this clarifies things up a bit for you :D

pmlindyloo

If you relinguish the Child Benefit then I believe that your son may be entitled to ESA. However, I can not find any information online about this.

However, I am not sure whether there is a limit to the number of hours that he can study.

This is a complex area and I would like to suggest that you contact CAB (make sure they have a Welfare and Benefits specialist) as they would have the detailed information that you need.

PS I will keep looking!

mynameistallulah

Not complex at all - ESA is not available to under 18s whilst they are still in full time education.

skylight

I think that the person who mention claiming ESA to you mistook this for EMA - the Educational Maintainence Allowance that was for those over 16 and at college/school. This though stopped last year.

Your sons school may offer an alternative fund for help with travels/costs etc.

samanthag

mynameistallulah wrote: »

Not complex at all - ESA is not available to under 18s whilst they are still in full time education.

thanks for that i didnt know that
my friend said that it was available to those aged 16

so i will wait then until he has left school
thanks for taking the time to reply

schrodie

You can claim contribution-based ESA in youth if you have not been able to work from before the age of 20, or 25 if you have been training or studying. You do not need to have paid national insurance contributions.

However those nice tories are going to or even have abolished it!!

mynameistallulah

schrodie wrote: »

You can claim contribution-based ESA in youth if you have not been able to work from before the age of 20, or 25 if you have been training or studying. You do not need to have paid national insurance contributions.

However those nice tories are going to or even have abolished it!!

It has already been abolished, no new applications have been allowed this tax year.

pmlindyloo

mynameistallulah wrote: »

Not complex at all - ESA is not available to under 18s whilst they are still in full time education.

Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) in youth

Once a young, disabled person reaches 16, they can claim income maintenance benefits in their own right, even though they may still be at school.
If previously someone acted as an agent or appointee for benefits such as Disability Living Allowance, the need for an appointee will be reviewed once the young person reaches 16 years of age.
Who can claim ESA?


ESA is a benefit paid to people aged 16 or older who cannot work because of a mental or physical disability. The rules are:

• you have to be aged 16 but under 20 and
• you have satisfied the disability conditions for six months and are likely to satisfy conditions for a further six monthsand
• you must be present and resident in Great Britainand
• you are in relevant education and under 20 andyou study less than 21 hours a week or you study over 21 hours a week and the course that you do is one that a person of your age without you disability would not do. Young People can claim the income-related component of ESA.

I am not saying that the OP's son will be eligible as it does depend entirely on the kind of course that he is doing and the hours.

However, it is still worth asking either at CAB or the Disability Advisor (is that the correct name?) at Job Centre Plus.

I may be entirely wrong and the circumstances do not make him eligible for income based ESA but I still believe it is worth enquiring.