WIBU to take this much from DD’s benefits?

[BlueLines81]

My DD is 19 and has a disability, she is not able to work and won’t be able to for the foreseeable. She receives PIP.

As she’s no longer in education, I was not entitled to claim benefits for her from the end of august this year. My tax credits went down quite considerably, and lost CB too, and all of my housing benefit. All together I am about £190 per week worse off. Which isn’t great as I am a single parent and also have a health condition (I receive low rate mobility PIP), and I had to give my job up in July as I couldn’t manage it anymore, so that’s another £1000ish per month down.

I am self employed and doing bits and pieces where I can, to give you an idea I’ve managed about 12 hours of work this month.

I did an online calculator in august and it looked like I would be better off on UC, and also needed to start a UC claim for DD, so I claimed for us both on the same day. We had an appointment at the jobcentre for DD’s claim a couple of weeks ago, and the advisor suggested that I become her appointee and I could have her UC paid into my account, if we felt DD didn’t have the capacity to manage it herself. I asked DD what she thought and she said she’d rather it was paid into my account. I am getting fit notes for both of us from the doctor and and hopefully we will both be entitled to the LCWRA elements.

The idea of being an adult and having to pay bills terrifies DD, mentally she is more like a 12 year old in a lot of ways. I have spoken to her about it and said the options are that either we work out exactly what her share of rent and bills etc would be and she just gives me the money for those, and she can arrange her own food shopping etc, and pay for herself if she wants to come on holidays etc. Or I keep the amount that I’ve lost in benefits for her, she can have whatever is leftover (which I think will still mean she’s better off than she is now with just her PIP). And then she can carry on essentially being a child for as long as she wants (I don’t mean this negatively, she regularly gets very tearful that she’s not a child anymore). She liked the sound of that option better. She just doesn’t want to have to think about finances at all.

But AIBU to take this much money from her? I don’t know the exact figures of what I’ll have lost until we get our first UC statements in a few days, but will probably be at least £150 per week. I know this a lot more than a lot of people take from adult children, which is why I feel bad, but then maybe they have a partner or are just financially in a better situation than I am. Realistically she’s going to be living at home for many more years to come.

No to get Motability you have to be on higher rate mobility.

The £400 towards living costs sounds fair but your DD should get her PIP in her own account and you help her to spend it on herself eg. her animal hobby and choosing gifts for family members. It's better for your DD than you just doing it all for her. If she can buy a train ticket or a snack then she could probably learn to buy other things with support.

My letter explicitly said that.

No. I’m not, and yes, she was. She submitted a paper claim for PIP and would have had to supply medical evidence along with it, as well as naming the health professionals involved with her care. An assessor will have looked at the paperwork and assessed the information and evidence - possibly contacting the named healthcare professionals to check or clarify information detailed in the application. Then, if there is enough evidence to give a clear idea of how her condition affects her, the assessor would make a decision on the paperwork alone and she would receive an award of benefit based on that assessment without the need to see her or even a telephone call. Doesn’t mean that she hasn’t been assessed, it just means they did not need to see her in person to do it. Nobody has a claim ‘waved through’ without an assessment.

I'll find my letter and upload a photo, though I really shouldn't have to do that.

It also said since I'd never committed or been the victim of a violent crime I wasn't disabled.

You’re talking nonsense - none of these things are a basis for refusing PIP. Without context it makes no sense.

Did they question you about the type of work you do and what it involved?

I'll upload my letter tomorrow. In a matter of fact way, that is exactly what it said.

Much like the person with cancer mentioned previously, some people have a terrible experience.

Did you ask for a mandatory reconsideration?

@Cola2023 I take it you appealed as you have lots of medical evidence.

^ this in absolute spades!

After reading the whole thread and then re reading the OP's posts I have never felt more sorry for the people truly entitled to and needing benefits that for whatever reason can't get them.

The drip feed/contradictory posts along the thread from OP are incredibly irritating.

Exactly - well said.

I'd already submitted my evidence and found the process too depressing to engage with.

For a self-appointed disabled spokesperson you're really aggressively lacking in empathy.

My Foster son was awarded higher rate PIP and higher rate care with evidence from many specialist and he never had an assessment in person or by phone but a paper based assessment based on fact he can't talk to strangers so he'd have just sat there saying nothing. His award was also for 9 years and you need 18 points for higher level and he scored 29 points.

If you buy postage online, you can arrange for the things you're sending to be collected from your house for free, and the postage is a little cheaper than at the post office too. I'm not sure if she would be able to do this herself or whether she'd still need help, but it would likely save you time on going to the post office.

But learning to do it herself is a useful skill is it not? If you just do everything for her how will she ever learn? You won't live forever.

@Meadowflower2023 and @Babyroobs, I take it you are both still implying that DD is not deserving of benefits? On what basis did you come to that conclusion? Bearing in mind you’ve never met her…

Yep, certainly have, but that’s in the second part of the mobility assessment and is mainly about mental health conditions. I was answering the poster on the basis of physical disability and there is no assessment of whether or not a claimant can physically use public transport in the part one moving around category - and no points awarded on that basis. And l did qualify my reply as to the fact that there are other criteria applying to both physical and mental health conditions.

So in the planning and following a journey descriptor there’s still no provision for a stand alone assessment of a claimants’ ability to use public transport - it’s a specific instruction to assessors that a claimant shouldn’t be assessed as unable to plan or follow a familiar route unless they are unable to use public transport. In other words they should be unable to plan follow a familiar route under their own steam, which isn’t the case if they can get in a bus or train and essentially have it planned for them.

I don't think an average 12 year old could pass the theory test. If this DC has passed the theory test, has been managing her own PIP for 2 years and been having driving lessons maybe she is more capable than OP thinks.

I would advise having rock solid medical evidence to support her next review.

Thanks for the advice @Babyroobs. Don’t worry, we have plenty of evidence because funnily enough I’m not making any of this shit up and I speak to the doctors regularly about her.

That's great then.

Right, so I've stopped work this evening to look for my old (depressing) PIP assessment. I applied on 1 December 2019 and was assessed in summer 2020 by phone. I submitted a lot of medical evidence.

I've removed my name since I haven't disclosed a disability at work, funnily enough. Being called a liar here is in really bad faith. You do disabled people a massive injustice by claiming the PIP process is great for all with a genuine disability:

Here is the first page.

The review form doesn’t ask for further medical evidence unless something has changed. So if things are essentially the same DWP will most likely leave the award unchanged. They may follow up by phone or check with the health professionals involved but I don’t understand why you think they would refuse a renewal of an award made on the basis of permanent disability.

Page 2. Keep in mind this was during full lockdown so I wasn't seeing a CPN etc.