Disabled student

Confusedmotherhelp

My eldest son has autism, adhd and severe learning disabilities and has been in SEN education since he was aged 4 and continues to do so  he attends college more of a social thing and to keep him going to have a purpose in life anyway when he turned 20 last week he was taken off my tax credits and child benefit its now came to light that apparently unless he  gets universal credit he will not get a housing benefit discount and i will have to pay full rent, so i then get told that he isnt entitled to universal credit only for the 13 weeks a year that he is not in college how is this even possible 

Im trying to get this straight in my head buI how can a 20 year old severe disabled person not be entitled to universal credit because he is going to college doing a non advanced course, yet a  mainstream 20 year old  that dont want to do anything with there life gets benefit? How on earth is this allowed, basically means in order for him to have money in his own right he has to stop going to college something that he enjoys and the only thing he is able to do, this carnt be right surely? He is nowhere in a position to be able to work 

Obviously i will support him but i am a single parent working 16hrs a week with 3 children with my wage being £185 per week and expected to pay £112 per week rent, because regan is classed as an adult 

Is there anyway there is someone who can help him his social worker didnt have much information regarding this

I may now have to stop working in order for my son to be able to continue doing what he is able to at SEN college i think this is absolutely shocking surely the system is totally wrong, absolutely devastated i have worked since I left school 20 years no break in my employment and now may have to give up working as can no way afford to pay full rent on my wage can you please help me

toomuchinfo

There must be a way for this to work. My son is 25 and in college with severe disabilities. He gets old style ESA in the support group. 

If there are any Welfare rights or even the college will be able to help you with information. Your Social Worker should be able to point you in the right direction for help even if she doesn’t know herself.

calcotti

toomuchinfo said:

There must be a way for this to work. My son is 25 and in college with severe disabilities. He gets old style ESA in the support group. 

That is different situation.

OP - how many hours is the course.

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/universal-credit-and-students

You may be able to get Universal Credit if you’re available for work and studying part time.
If the course is more than 12 hours a week non-advanced education, this only applies from 1 September following your 19th birthday. This is because your parents can claim benefits for you before that date.
You may be asked to provide evidence of the course you are doing.

You say he is severely disabled, does your son get a disability benefit?
 
I don't follow what you mean by a housing benefit discount, are you referring to a non dependant deduction?

poppy12345

Full time students that have parental support are unable to claim UC. Does he claim a disability benefit such as PIP or DLA? If he does then he can claim New style ESA as a credits only claim. Once he's been assessed if he's found to have either LCW or LCWRA then he'll be able to claim UC. See link. https://www.disabilityrightsuk.org/how-we-can-help/individuals/education/frequently-asked-questions-students

elsien

I think OP is probably referring to the non dependant adult disregards? 

Confusedmotherhelp

toomuchinfo said:

There must be a way for this to work. My son is 25 and in college with severe disabilities. He gets old style ESA in the support group. 

If there are any Welfare rights or even the college will be able to help you with information. Your Social Worker should be able to point you in the right direction for help even if she doesn’t know herself.

Hi thanks for reply,  honestly social worker didnt have much information regarding it, and as for his college given that they are a SEN college you would think they would know but they didn't which surprised me

Confusedmotherhelp

calcotti said:

toomuchinfo said:

There must be a way for this to work. My son is 25 and in college with severe disabilities. He gets old style ESA in the support group. 

That is different situation.

You may be able to get Universal Credit if you’re available for work and studying part time.
If the course is more than 12 hours a week  this only applies from 1 September following your 19th birthday. This is because your parents can claim benefits for you before that date.
You may be asked to provide evidence of the course you are doing.

You say he is severely disabled, does your son get a disability benefit?
 
I don't follow what you mean by a housing benefit discount, are you referring to a non dependant deduction?

Yes he gets pip, yes the non dependent deduction and housing are saying he is now down as an adult with no earnings so takes more housing benefit 😫

Confusedmotherhelp

poppy12345 said:

Full time students that have parental support are unable to claim UC. Does he claim a disability benefit such as PIP or DLA? If he does then he can claim New style ESA as a credits only claim. Once he's been assessed if he's found to have either LCW or LCWRA then he'll be able to claim 

Hi poppy, thanks for this info yes he claims pip 

calcotti

Confusedmotherhelp said:

calcotti said:

toomuchinfo said:

There must be a way for this to work. My son is 25 and in college with severe disabilities. He gets old style ESA in the support group. 

That is different situation.

You may be able to get Universal Credit if you’re available for work and studying part time.
If the course is more than 12 hours a week  this only applies from 1 September following your 19th birthday. This is because your parents can claim benefits for you before that date.
You may be asked to provide evidence of the course you are doing.

You say he is severely disabled, does your son get a disability benefit?
 
I don't follow what you mean by a housing benefit discount, are you referring to a non dependant deduction?

Yes he gets pip, yes the non dependent deduction and housing are saying he is now down as an adult with no earnings so takes more housing benefit 😫

This is a situation in which you might be better off on UC. Not a decision to be taken lightly - you would need to do a full entitlement calculation before deciding. However under UC there would be no non dependant deduction for him if he gets PIP.

theoretica

Have you found this organisation? https://contact.org.uk/help-for-families/information-advice-services/benefits-financial-help/benefits-and-tax-credits/universal-credit/universal-credit-for-young-people/

Could he continue to attend as a social thing - but not be enrolled in a course?  Might that be a work around the rules?  I am not too surprised the school don't know what to advise as the rules have changed recently.

poppy12345

theoretica said:

Have you found this organisation? https://contact.org.uk/help-for-families/information-advice-services/benefits-financial-help/benefits-and-tax-credits/universal-credit/universal-credit-for-young-people/

That link confirms my advice here.

poppy12345 said:

Full time students that have parental support are unable to claim UC. Does he claim a disability benefit such as PIP or DLA? If he does then he can claim New style ESA as a credits only claim. Once he's been assessed if he's found to have either LCW or LCWRA then he'll be able to claim UC. See link. https://www.disabilityrightsuk.org/how-we-can-help/individuals/education/frequently-asked-questions-students