My aunt and her daughters PIP/ benefits

I want you to read this all before you respond.
Every child should have a roof over their heads and be fed, those are basic needs that parents should be meeting anyway - along with any other needs the child has, they have more than basic needs, even before disability comes into account.
However, like you said, often parents can’t work, which limits household income. And universal credit doesn’t cover basic costs.
in an ideal world you’d have the disability money spare after essential costs but you don’t and that isn’t your fault.

It's real, @vegtrug, and it happens. Only the OP can know if that's what she's uneasy about, hence my post.

So your 16 year old cousin is still in full time education, mum receives child benefit etc for her because she is still a dependant, but then charges her rent from the money she makes at her weekend job? I’d also be suspicious. A 16 year old in full time education with a little weekend job should not be paying rent. Give it a bit longer. She’ll probably move in with you permanently and then she’ll have the support she needs to achieve independence as an adult.

Ok that's fine but I have supported a lot of people through PIP assessments and each time they have been asked if they are working and what job they do. I have also seen it asked at tribunals by the panel. I guess people do have different experiences though. Of course they will always ask you at your LCWRA assessment because that is a work capability assessment.

@Miley1967 I've been on PIP since 2013 and DLA prior to that and they've never once asked me if I'm working....?
However they have for my LCWRA assessments

@Walkacrossthesand How fucking DARE you make such wild assumptions about a disabled teenager who you've never met and haven't even been told how her disabilities affect her, just what she's been diagnosed with... Wow. The most ableist post I've ever read on Mumsnet and that's quite an accolade

Pip is an in work benefit.
But, it may be that the job that she does contradicts the difficulties your aunt put on the forms

I am well aware of that thanks. However I have never sat in on a PIP assessment where the assessor has not asked the claimant if they work and if so what type of work they do which is the point I was making in my post.

@Agix Absolute nonsense. That's only relevant to the care component and even then it's not that clear cut. I get enhanced pip mobility and standard care and I don't have any carers!

See my above comment. You can work and receive pip. Even millionaires can receive pip

PIP is nothing to do with working! It's not means tested and is paid for the added costs of being disabled. It's not an income replacement

This isn’t accurate. The appointee process is completely separate from the PIP application itself.

She will do the pip assessment and unless she lies, the money will go directly to her. If she gets any. If she's capable it will come out in the forms and interview so nobody else would be taking the money.

Am the only one wondering why a 15/16 year old still in education is expected to pay board?

No one here can determine if she's entitled to pip. At 16 I was the appointee and had it in my account as my child was still in full time education and I still paid for everything. Once he left we changed it so it goes directly to him and he now pays board. 16 is still quite young but the fact her mum charges board when she's still in (presumably due to her age full time?) education concerns me.

@BrightYellowTrain also knows what they are talking about.

I agree completely. It should absolutely be 18.

This is absolutely true. Some will be eligible for DLA but not be eligible under pip criteria. For example, young people with Type 1 Diabetes are usually eligible for DLA as the care component is based on hours of care required. PIP is based on a series of task descriptors so they usually only score one point for needing assistance to manage medication. Even though that is a round the clock job. They can qualify but it’s usually based on anxiety and psychological needs rather than the T1D itself. It’s unfair, but that’s the system.

Equally, PIP assesses 16 year olds as adults, so the expectation in terms of independence is the same as a fully fledged adult. So some autistic young people can score higher on PIP due to needing prompting and supervision with most activities of daily living and being unable to plan and follow journeys without support.

That’s a simplistic example and won’t apply to every applicant. But the criteria are so different.

Yes ours went up as in many cases neurodiverse kids simply aren't capable of being independent even if there are no physical disabilities.

Personally I think 16 is far too young to expect children with additional needs to manage their own finances.

I very much doubt that a parent of a disabled child who is eligible for dla, is spending less than the dla money on that child.

Especially when Scope’s latest disability price tag research shows on average disabled households need an extra £1,010 per month for the same standard of living as non-disabled households. This figure would be higher on if it was adjusted for inflation.

Nobody’s saying they are spending it on themselves.

I’m a welfare rights lawyer and I promise you that it’s fine for DLA to be used in any way that benefits the child. Including providing a suitable environment for them to live in, and food.

I very much doubt that a parent of a disabled child who is eligible for dla, is spending less than the dla money on that child.

Indeed but the criteria is different to DLA I know quite like a few young whose rates have gone up when transferring to PIp
Yet others have lost an award entirely

Someone can be eligible for PIP and still be independent/not require care from someone else. They could needs aids to do the daily living activities.

Cooking for herself and travelling by herself isn't enough info to judge her needs though. My autistic brother can prepare food, travel by himself, go shopping, look after a child for a couple of hours etc. On paper.

But in reality he can only make the same 5 simple meals, he can only travel on routes he knows, he can only go to the shops he knows, he could watch a child but wouldn't know what to do in an emergency etc. Any deviation from what he knows results in an anxiety explosion and a meltdown. He works 5 days a week, but he can not handle his own finances. He doesn't understand bills and budgeting. He isn't able to fill in his own forms or advocate for himself. He definitely wouldn't be able to complete a PIP form himself. He will always live in supportive housing and needs other people to help him and keep him safe.

Looking in from the outside isn't the same as living with it.