Which esa, and how do we apply?

Ceirdwyn

My daughter is 20, and suffers from several mental health issues. She has diagnosis of OCD, BPD, anxiety, severe depression, and agoraphobia. She was doing well (for her) and got a place at uni last September, but had to suspend her studies due to a breakdown a few months ago. She is on the waiting list to access the mental health team, for the third time, but they only offer CBT, which doesn't help. She's done 2 courses already, in mid 2016 and again in 2017/18. She is currently not in receipt of any benefits, and needs to get some money coming in.

I've spent ages looking on the .gov benefit pages, and I think she should be eligible for ESA, and maybe PIP, as she needs 24 care at the moment to stop her from harming herself. She's back in her old room here at home. She's still hurting herself though, despite our best efforts. I'm severely physically disabled, and DH is my carer, and also battling a serious auto immune disease that's attacking his lungs and liver. 24 care isn't possible right now, but we're doing what we can.

Nevermind all that, back to the benefits issue. I've got stuck in a loop. The .gov site says

To get ‘new style’ ESA you’ll need to have been an employee or self-employed and paid National Insurance contributions, usually in the last 2 to 3 years. National Insurance credits can also count

Which she hasn't, so that's out.

You can only apply for contribution-based ESA if you have an illness or disability that affects your ability to work, and you either:

get the severe disability premium, or are entitled to it
got or were entitled to the severe disability premium within the last month and are still eligible for it.
You’ll also need to have been an employee or self-employed and paid National Insurance contributions, usually in the last 2 to 3 years. National Insurance credits can also count.

That second bit rules that out, which leaves Income based, which is what I thought she would be applying for, but it says

You can only apply for income-based ESA if you have an illness or disability that affects your ability to work, and you either:

get the severe disability premium, or are entitled to it
got or were entitled to the severe disability premium within the last month and are still eligible for it

How do we know if she is eligible for SDP before she applies for anything? Does she have to apply for PIP first? The benefits calculator on the .gov site didn't say that, just that she should be eligible for esa.

We tried to make an appointment to go and talk to someone at the jobcentre, but the phone tree just went around and around and then hung up on us.

I'm totally confused by it all. Any guidance would be gratefully received. Thanks. Sorry if got a bit disjointed.

poppy12345

All areas are now a full Universal Credit area so she won't be able to claim Income Related ESA. She won't qualify for SDP because she doesn't claim any benefits to be eligible.


She won't be able to claim New style ESA because this is based on your NI Contributions in the previous 2 tax years from working.


This means that she'll need to claim Universal Credit. She'll need a fit/sick note from her GP to be able to claim limited capability for work through UC.


https://www.turn2us.org.uk/Benefit-guides/Universal-Credit/What-is-Universal-Credit


https://www.entitledto.co.uk/help/Universal_Credit_Work_Capability_Assessment



You claim this online here. https://www.gov.uk/apply-universal-credit


PIP is awarded based on how your conditions affect you and not on a diagnosis and you can find information for this here.

https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/benefits/sick-or-disabled-people-and-carers/pip/before-claiming/how-much-you-get-and-how-long/


https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/Global/Migrated_Documents/adviceguide/pip-9-table-of-activities-descriptors-and-points.pdf


Evidence will be needed to support her claim and a face to face assessment is most likely because most people have them.

WhenIam64

As Poppy says plus did she take out a Student Loan and how much is left?

Ceirdwyn

WhenIam64 wrote: »

As Poppy says plus did she take out a Student Loan and how much is left?

She did. She got the full amount possible for the first year, because she didn't officially suspend her studies until after he start of the third term. She got a letter when she came home saying they had overpaid her by £5000, but tbh, we're ignoring that for now. Most of her money went on rent, as she was in contract for the full 12 months and had to pay it, even after she came home. What was left is what she has been living on since, as we're on a seriously tight budget anyway, so there's not much left at all.

Will that make a difference?

Ceirdwyn

This means that she'll need to claim Universal Credit. She'll need a fit/sick note from her GP to be able to claim limited capability for work through UC.

Thank you! Why can't they make that clear on the website? We'll hve a good look at that tomorrow.