18 and living at home, entitled to anything?

Anyway

Hi all
My 18 year old daughter lives at home with us rent free. She was due to have sat her A levels but with Coronavirus is now just waiting for the results to arrive. Due to anxiety and depression she is not going to be seeking work for approximately 18months in order to work on mental health issues. This has been agreed as best method of dealing with the issues experienced over last 6 or so years. We still get child benefit from her, I assume that will end in September. Can she claim for any benefits herself? Will she have to go to meetings with jobcentre or similar or be pressured in any way to be seeking work if she were claiming as that would be enough to stop her from making a claim. 
Thanks for any advice.

calcotti

Once the school year is over she will be eligible for Universal Credit. https://www.gov.uk/universal-credit/eligibility
If she has a Fit Note from her GP saying she is not fit for work she will be referred for a Work Capability Assessment to decide whether or not she is expected to look for work.

If her condition affects her ability to look after herself and to manage specified activities she can also look at PIP. https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/benefits/sick-or-disabled-people-and-carers/pip/

Anyway

Thank you, so much. She has no fit note from GP so I assume without that she will be under some degree of pressure to look for work then?

poppy12345

Anyway said:

Thank you, so much. She has no fit note from GP so I assume without that she will be under some degree of pressure to look for work then?

Work requirements have been suspended due to covid19. I don't know when they will be turned back on but once they are then without the fit note she will need to look for work and attend appointments with her work coach. It would be much better if she could get the fit note and then the work capability assessment process will begin. If she's then placed into the LCWRA group she'll receive extra money from the 4th month of her claim.

Anyway

Thank you, I'll encourage her to approach GP about it then

NedS

calcotti said:

Once the school year is over she will be eligible for Universal Credit. https://www.gov.uk/universal-credit/eligibility

Just to clarify, that is normally the first week in September, so she will not be entitled to claim Universal Credit until September as she is still classified as a student and you are still receiving Child Benefit (and potentially Child Tax Credits or UC) for her.

Anyway

Yes, we said to her she would have to wait until child benefit payments have ceased for her.

Rubyroobs

I am in a similar situation. Does anyone know it it's possible to relinquish Child benefit early  so that a young person can claim UC form the end of June when their course finishes ? I don't get any Uc myself or child tax credits for my son.

Secretsusie

I believe you can do that.  Child benefit has a policy of upto a 20 week run on after leaving full time education, but it's not compulsory.  So you can write and cancel it. 

calcotti

Rubyroobs said:

I am in a similar situation. Does anyone know it it's possible to relinquish Child benefit early  so that a young person can claim UC form the end of June when their course finishes ? I don't get any Uc myself or child tax credits for my son.

I think the key question is when DWP will treat the schooling to have ended. If young person is treated as still at school they will not be able to claim UC even if parent is not getting Child Benefit. Ned has suggested that schooling will be considered to continue to end of August but I can’t find guidance on this.

Rubyroobs

calcotti said:

Rubyroobs said:

I am in a similar situation. Does anyone know it it's possible to relinquish Child benefit early  so that a young person can claim UC form the end of June when their course finishes ? I don't get any Uc myself or child tax credits for my son.

I think the key question is when DWP will treat the schooling to have ended. If young person is treated as still at school they will not be able to claim UC even if parent is not getting Child Benefit. Ned has suggested that schooling will be considered to continue to end of August but I can’t find guidance on this.

Thanks I couldn't find any guidance either. I think I will ring the child benefit office and see what they say. There isn't a lot of difference between what my son would get from UC once deductions are made for his part time earnings, and what we would get from child benefit, I just thought the 35 hours of job searching commitment might make him look a little harder for full time work than he currently is although I appreciate it's difficult in the current climate.