Students, PIP& UC

iklepig

Hello there,

I could really do with some advice please.

I have a 19 year old who receives enhanced rate of both components of PIP. I understand when she starts university she can claim UC and will be considered to have LCW as a disabled student. I think this works out at £386.22 a month (under 25 plus disability premium)

She will be entitled to the tuition loan (£9250) and the maximum maintenance loan (£9488)

I know she will keep her PIP as a student. I know that the maintenance student loan is deducted from the UC  payment but I can’t work out how that happens and how much will be left after deductions to the UC.

can anyone explain it to me please?
thanks in advance. 

huckster

Quite complicated, but before someone can explain, what Housing costs approximately will there be on a monthly basis.

There will need to be a health capability for work assessment under UC to see if they are treated as LCW. For this process to be started, from the start of the UC claim, a Doctors fit note will be required. Might appear a bit odd, but this is the process. Just because they have enhanced PIP, does not mean they are treated automatically as LCW. 

Once you have advised approx monthly Housing amount, someone will give you an idea of what UC monthly payment could be.

calcotti

huckster said:There will need to be a health capability for work assessment under UC to see if they are treated as LCW. 

They cannot claim UC unless they have already been found to have LCW. They therefore have to apply for new style ESA. They will be told they cannot receive new style ESA because they don't have the required NI contributions but should still be referred for a Work Capability Assessment. If the WCA finds that they have LCW or LCWRA they can then apply for UC.

As regards the student loan and UC. The loan (subject to some disregards) is treated as income averaged out over the 9 or 10 months of study. That income is then deducted in full from any UC payable. It is complicated.

There is DWP guidance here
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/universal-credit-and-students
https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/907998/admh6.pdf

iklepig said:

I think this works out at £386.22 a month (under 25 plus disability premium)

This figure does not look right and I am not clear what you mean by disability premium.
The maximum UC amount/month will be the standard allowance (£257.33 from October) plus the housing element (if renting) plus LCWRA £343.63 if awarded.

poppy12345

iklepig said:

Hello there,

I think this works out at £386.22 a month (under 25 plus disability premium)

She will be entitled to the tuition loan (£9250) and the maximum maintenance loan (£9488)

There's no disability premium when claiming UC. The standard amount for under 25's is £344 per month which is due to be reduced to £257.33 per month from October 2021.

Once she's assessed, if she's found to have LCWRA there's an extra £343 per month. However, with the student maintenance loan of that amount, unless she has housing costs she may find that her UC will reduce to zero in the months she's at Uni. If she's continuing to live with you then she won't be able to claim for any housing costs.

iklepig

Thank you both for replying. 

Calcotti - so she applies for new style ESA only for it to be rejected and then apply for UC? Is this backdated to the day she applied for new style ESA (as we know she’ll be rejected)?

poppy - the reduction to zero UC during the study months is exactly what I thought! For 43 weeks a year she’d get zero UC - so if there much point in applying for UC then? Housing costs will be £175 a week apparently. Is it simpler to have tuition loan, maintenance loan, PIP and just forego 9 weeks UC a year? It seems so to me or am I missing something major?

I really appreciate both of your advice. Thank you. 

poppy12345

When she applies for NsESA she will be declined but can still be assessed for LCW through the ESA claim. Once she's assessed and a decision's been made if she's given LCW then she can apply for UC but there will be no backdated money. If the decision is LCWRA then when she claims UC she will be entitled to the extra £343 per month from the start of her claim.

For the housing if she's privately renting, how much she's entitled to will depend on the LHA in her area. You can check that here.

https://lha-direct.voa.gov.uk/

Whether it's worth continuing with this i really don't know.

calcotti

iklepig said: Calcotti - so she applies for new style ESA only for it to be rejected and then apply for UC?

As advised

calcotti said: They will be told they cannot receive new style ESA because they don't have the required NI contributions but should still be referred for a Work Capability Assessment. If the WCA finds that they have LCW or LCWRA they can then apply for UC.

So the ESA claim is processed but there is no monetary entitlement. Getting a decision on Limited capability for Work is a precondition to making the UC application. The WCA cannot be carried out under UC because the UC claim cannot be accepted unless LCW has first been established. (We are assuming your daughter is not herself a parent.)

iklepig said:..then apply for UC? Is this backdated to the day she applied for new style ESA

There will be no backdating of UC.

iklepig said: Housing costs will be £175 a week apparently.

Are you saying that your daughter will be paying rent of £175/week? Or is this the local LHA figure for a one bedroom property that would be the maximum help available?

iklepig said:.. so is there much point in applying for UC then? 

That's a judgement call only you and she can make. Even just two months of UC payment would be over £1000 if LCWRA element is included even if their are no housing costs.

Even if she doesn't think it worth applying now she might need the support in the summer months. If that may be the case then arguably it is worth applying for ESA in order to establish LCW/LCWRA. She then has the option of applying for UC if she wishes to do so. In addition she will start to built her NI record because she will get Class 1 NI credits for LCW (commonly known as an ESA 'credits only' claim although that is not legally accurate).

huckster

Will look into this further but last time I checked a disabled student could claim UC with a fit note and be assessed for LCW later.  They did not have to go through the ESA workaround as described. 

Alice_Holt

https://www.disabilityrightsuk.org/how-we-can-help/helplines/disabled-students-helpline

poppy12345

huckster said:

Will look into this further but last time I checked a disabled student could claim UC with a fit note and be assessed for LCW later.  They did not have to go through the ESA workaround as described. 

Even if this was possible, there's very likely no UC entitlement because of the student loan.

calcotti

Regulations laid a year ago were made to prevent students applying for UC and then being assessed
https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2020/827/made
as explained in the memorandum
“The purpose of this instrument is to make it clear that the exception from the requirement to not be receiving education under regulation 14(b) of the Universal Credit Regulations 20131 (“the UC Regulations”) requires that the person is entitled to attendance allowance, disability living allowance or personal independence payment and must already have been determined to have limited capability for work (LCW).”

The government described these regulations as a clarification of the original statutory intent.

However I note that leave for a judicial review of these regulations was granted in June.
https://www.leighday.co.uk/latest-updates/news/2021-news/disabled-student-given-permission-to-legally-challenge-new-regulations-preventing-him-claiming-universal-credit/

In the meantime claims New style ESA in order to establish LCW is a workaround.