Parent failed esa now considering universal credit in family home

gizzmansl2

Hi, sorry if similar posts exsist i could not find a particular one that matches what i needed answering.

My mum failed an esa medical but is not well (anxiety/weakness etc)cand unfit for work, she cannot possibly get or find a job and we will contest the decision but if that fails we are not sure on further options because i see universal credit may be a help but she lives with me and my brother that are both adults in full time work and pay the rent/c tax and other normal bills, her benefits are money for her (food/small bills (phone)/clothes etc) so if she was to apply for universal credit would she get anything at all and how does me and my brother effect it as obviously she cant live with no money for herself and we cannot afford to help her directly by giving her money so would they give her anything at all to live on? Any and all help apreciated.

P.s. i have tried the calculators and websites and cant find much that directly take into account our personal situation. Thanks

gizzmansl2

Sunny_Intervals wrote: »

If you and your brother are both non-dependent adults, your income shouldn't affect her ESA/UC, as you're not part of her "household" anymore (even though you live with her).



I think you might affect her in terms of housing benefit and council tax reduction, but I don't know how that's been affected by UC.

Many thanks for the reply and yes housing/c tax benefit isnt a worry as such as we can and are paying full for a while so just interested in what she could possibly get from UC for herself and things like does she need to sign on still or would they just pay and leave her be?

Again any and all details welcome, cheers

poppy12345

The first thing she needs to do is ask for a mandatory reconsideration and she has 28 days after the decision to request this. She should put the request in writing stating what she disagrees with, which group she thinks she should be and the reasons why. Most MR decisions remain the same, so the likely hood of having to take it to Tribunal is very high. Only 20% of MR decisions change. Did she send in evidence to support her claim? They rarely contact anyone for this and the onus is on her to make she's it's sent. Was she on assessment rate or in a group?


If the MR decision remains the same and she take sit to Tribunal she'll be able to go back onto assessment rate of ESA.


If her area is a full Universal credit area and she applies for this then she won't be able to go back onto ESA. You and your partners income won't affect any UC claim she makes.


More info here about both ESA groups.
https://www.benefitsandwork.co.uk/employment-and-support-allowance/esa-glossary/1354-work-related-activity-group-descriptors


https://www.benefitsandwork.co.uk/employment-and-support-allowance/esa-glossary/1353-support-group-descriptors


Reg 29 &35 here.
http://www.cpag.org.uk/content/making-exception

calcotti

She can claim UC and will be entitled to £317/month plus any allowable rent but the starting assumption will be that she is expected to spend 35 hours/week looking for work. As you and your brothers are adults she is not part of her household.

If the house is rented and she is the only person named on the tenancy then the rent should be included in her claim and you and your brother will be assumed to pay £72.16/month each (regardless of how much you actually pay). If all three of you are on the tenancy agreement then your mother should be able to get help with her third of the rent.

calcotti

Sunny_Intervals wrote: »

I think you might affect her in terms of housing benefit and council tax reduction, but I don't know how that's been affected by UC (and it wouldn't be relevant if she isn't liable for those bills anyway).

You can’t claim Housing Benefit in a UC area, help with rent is included in UC. If you already get housing benefit when you claim UC the housing benefit stops 2 weeks after you claim UC.

tazwhoever

I'm not too sure, I have notifiable disease which I hope gets me ESA (reg 29). But my disease won't get cured, why should I get reassessments?

Did ESA test on B&W site.

Thanks,

calcotti

Sunny_Intervals wrote: »

Is council tax reduction under UC yet? I can't remember if CTR is effected by non-dependents or not.

No. CTR remains the responsibility of local authorities. Because ever local authority has their own CTR scheme it is too complicated to include in a UC. Of course if the government had retained a standard national scheme for CTR instead of delegating it they could have included it in UC and saved the local authorities the expense of running benefits departments!

gizzmansl2

Thanks for all the replies everyone, i have taken them into account and yes she is doing a MR for sure and we know that will come back as a no also so when she starts the tribunal is it a garantee she will get the basic assesment rate and any ideas on how long this will usually take? Thanks

gizzmansl2

Hey and also we will seek advice but if the MR doesnt go through and the tribunal process dont pay assesment rate etc we might not have a choice because she needs some money to live on they cant expect her to survive for months on nothing so UC may be the only option for an income of any sort but even if she is on UC does that mean she cant start a new claim after 6 months on esa and if not why does it work like that? Shes 56 and unfit for work so does UC force u to look for work too or can you stay on it without actively seeking work, i have no idea how it works? Thanks

poppy12345

If the MR decisions remains the same, once the Tribunal accept the appeal she'll need her reference number to go back onto assessment rate of ESA. Providing she doesn't claim UC. She will also need fit/sick note from her GP. Decisions times for MR's vary depending on backlog.

calcotti

gizzmansl2 wrote: »

Thanks for all the replies everyone, i have taken them into account and yes she is doing a MR for sure and we know that will come back as a no also so when she starts the tribunal is it a garantee she will get the basic assesment rate and any ideas on how long this will usually take? Thanks

If the MR is unsuccessful and you have to go to a tribunal then it’s a long wait because the tribunal service is overstretched. Waiting times vary around the country but you can expect to wait over 6 months.

To improve chance at MR try and get new medical evidence to support your mother.

If your mother claims UC she cannot go back onto old style ESA but if she gets put into support group st MR or tribunal that status should be transferred into UC which would mean her monthly entitlement will increase and she would not be expected to look for work.

If she doesn’t claim UC then she is entitled to the basic rate of ESA as soon as the appeal to the tribunal service is lodged but gets nothing during the MR process.