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.

@CHRIS003 I get what you’re saying, but I need a vehicle that can tow, and DD’s car is way too small.

I was just thinking about the overall picture of you managing on UC.
in that case you have to keep your car but give up the lease on the motability car.
What your daughter pays now for the motability car you can use for household income as per your original post. If your daughter passes her test could she drive your car as well ?
It is a big financial readjustment going on to uc on disability benefits, it is difficult to keep up one car with petrol road tax, mot or finance etc, if your daughter doesn't pass her test but wants to carry on learning then she could maybe carry on paying for the lessons out of her PIP, using instructors car. Maybe you could take her out for supervised drives sometimes too.

I would have thought a better option would be for the OP to get rid of her own car and keep the motability vehicle. She can add herself on to the insurance at no extra cost and will be entitled to use it for all purposes, while her DD is resident with and dependent on her. She will have paid a deposit for the vehicle, which will be dead money, and there will be a £250 penalty if she hands it back before the lease is up - she may also be asked to pay back some of the costs of adapting the vehicle and removing the adaptations, depending on how long she’s had the the car. If she keeps the motability vehicle she won’t pay road tax or insurance costs as it’s all included in the monthly payment, which also covers maintenance and servicing. There’s also the not inconsiderable question of whether her DD actually wants to hand back the car, given that the lease is paid for by benefits paid directly to her, and she doesn’t lack the capacity to make her own decisions.

Actually before DLA there was attendance allowance and mobility allowance. Attendance allowance was introduced in 1971 and when the blue three wheel invalid carriages for disabled drivers began to be phased out from 1976, mobility allowance, was introduced as an alternative, along with the motability scheme in 1977. The two were merged into DLA in 1992. DLA was in payment for people of all ages providing there was an existing claim before pensionable age until 2013 when the coalition government scrapped it for those of working age and introduced PIP instead. DLA is still paid to children up to the age of 16 and there are still legacy DLA claimants who missed compulsory migration to PIP according to their date of birth. Attendance allowance is now only paid to those who had no existing entitlement to DLA or PIP before reaching retirement age.

Can I also correct those posters who seem to believe that motability is run by the government and supported by the tax payer. It’s not. It’s actually a charity and works with the motor industry to source affordable cars for disabled people, so that the lease, along with insurance and maintenance/servicing and repairs cost no more than their benefit payments. All adaptations supplied and fitted by motability to enable disabled people to drive the cars are supplied at the expense of the claimant themselves, as are any advance payments to secure larger or specialist vehicles. There is a grant scheme available for those who can’t afford these costs and it’s funded entirely by charitable donations.

I was thinking the same thing. It would make more financial sense to keep the motability vehicle given that the costs of maintaining it are paid for on a three year lease - plus there would be financial penalties for handing it back early. The only thing I would say, is that for anyone considering a motability lease as a way of supplying a family car, there are caveats as to what it can be used for. If the registered keeper (the claimant) is resident at the same address as the driver and fully or partly financially dependent on them, then it’s fine for the driver to use the car as they would a normal vehicle. If there is no financial dependence or the registered keeper is resident at a different address than the driver, then a tracker is placed in the car at the start of the lease, and the vehicle can only be used for the benefit of the claimant. Misuse leads to the withdrawal of the car and in serious cases the claimant may lose benefit. So the OP would be wise to check with motability to make sure she’s covered, although from her posts, it would seem that her dd is at least partly financially dependent on her.

I have Autusm anxiety depression dyslexia and dyspraxia. My mum steaks for me. They have taken all of my pip away now though. I had my tribunal but DWP didn't send the documents so I have to wait again.

You can work and claim PIP

That isn’t correct. You can be self employed and claim PIP.

If you read OP’s posts you will see getting rid of OP’s car isn’t possible because the motability car is small.

OP, what support is being provided via DD’s EHCP? It sounds like EOTAS would be worth considering, which could include driving lessons.

Bless you. You know, David Cameron claimed DLA for his bairn dont you? Was he committing benefit fraud as well?

Honestly some people. Far too many think these benefits are means tested 🙄

My son is on high rate for living and mobility. I have been giving him an allowance out of it, which he pays for his phone, or rather he gets me to in front of him (I am his nominee). I've also been saving some for rainy days for him and keeping a little back for home living expenses. I keep increasing his allowance and have encouraged him to save a little too. If (and that's a big if) he ever left I know not having his money wouldn't make a difference. I do my best to encourage as much independence as is possible, but it's very difficult.

No, you’re not. Try doing some research before you post incorrect information on a public forum that others may be looking to for information. PIP has absolutely nothing to do with your ability to work - either as self employed or for an employer. Sickness benefits assess your ability to work. PIP assesses how your disability affects your daily life - doing everyday things like cooking, bathing, toileting and moving around, to name but a few. It’s a universal benefit which means it’s not means tested, so how much income or savings you have are irrelevant.

Yep. Claimed DLA for Ivan, despite being a millionaire, and then broke all his election promises to the disabled by scrapping it in favour of PIP, which was designed to save money rather than provide meaningful support - so many people lost their entire claim on being migrated from DLA to PIP and the irony is that any savings it was meant to provide by the much harsher assessment, were wiped out by the cost of appeals tribunals claimants were forced to undergo to get a fair decision. Sorry, I’ll get off my soapbox !!

I’ve done my best to explain what PIP means, as have several other posters, but still the ignorance persists - this one seems fairly malicious though.

I think that for ethical reasons, you should to get dd’s capacity assessed by a 3rd party. There are two issues being conflated here which obscures the question of whether or not you are acting in your daughters best interest 1) you are under financial strain (and this seems to be playing into your decision to take on financial control for your daughter) 2) your daughters capacity to look after her own finances. Objectively, to know whether or not you are taking advantage of your daughter or acting in her best interest, we need to separate these two issues.

Obviously, we do not know your daughters full situation. We do not know her disabilities, her relationship to you or her capacity. It could be perfectly reasonable to appoint someone with financial responsibility to manage her money. Or, it could be an abuse of power. I have to say, being emotional about not being a child anymore and being anxious about taking on adult responsibility are not necessarily symptoms of a lack of capacity. This can be normal for young adults.

One option, if your daughter does lack capacity, could be to appoint a disinterested 3rd party to manage her finances. You could come to a fair agreement with that person relating to rent, food, bills etc.

Have you thought about how you might manage to pay your bills should your daughter decide to move out?

Claiming dla and pip are not just about money, these benefits can help a lot in terms of getting the person appropriate help for their needs.

Presumably benefit was stopped after a review ? I’m assuming you’ve made a complaint about the DWP’s non compliance with the Tribunal and are waiting to hear - they should reschedule the hearing as soon as possible. DWP normally have 28 days to respond to the Tribunals’ request for the relevant documentation. If you’re unsure what to do next, there is an excellent welfare rights site - www.benefits and work.co.uk. Have a look at their advice section on tribunals - might be helpful for you. The link below takes you straight to the page detailing delays caused by DWP failing to respond.

https://www.benefitsandwork.co.uk/forum/10-dla-esa-queries-results/137306-dwp-fail-to-provide-evidence-for-tribunal

Yes, PIP/DLA are the gateway to other help and services, including local authority care services, and certain awards of mobility allowance can automatically qualify you for a blue badge, for example. And either standard or enhanced award of care component can allow a carer to claim carers allowance if they satisfy eligibility. There’s also lots of concessions from various public bodies for claimants, as well as exemption from many toll based bridges and roads. A blue badge will also exempt the holder from the London congestion charge on payment of a £10 admin fee, and up to two vehicles used by the badge holder can be registered.

I don’t think the OP’s dd’s capacity is in question - she’s qualified it several times and says she is more like a 12 year old emotionally, not intellectually. And the OP is already her DD’s nominated spokesperson for the DWP - this is designed to allow her to deal with things on a day to day basis. You can’t appoint an independent to manage DD’s money unless she is assessed as lacking capacity, and since she is managing her own PIP and budgeting herself, as well as managing to sell online and passing the theory driving assessment, that’s doubtful.

You have to hand it to this poster though - self righteous and malicious drivel all in one post !!

He did. He was a proper knob that one. It wouldn't have been for the money, but more for the doors it opened.

Tbh the more comments from people on this topic, I'm beginning to understand why they put do not consume on shampoo bottles.

🤣🤣🤣

Thanks, just seen the post about the size of the car - I’ll link to that post because there may be something she can do about that, depending on how long she’s had the car.

@Rosscameasdoody Hi it wasn't a review. My problems had worse even and I had more diagnosis so I told them and they said things had hit better. They said I'm on less medication but I'm not. Tribunal said they will write to DWP. It's been 3 weeks on Wednesday.

OP you may be able to do something about that. It might be worth giving Motability customer services a ring (03004564566) to explain the financial situation and the fact that you think there is little chance of her passing a driving test. Tell them that a solution would be to use the motability car as the driver yourself, to take care of DD’s needs, but that the existing car is too small for your and her needs. Depending on how far along you are in the lease, they may be able to allow a change to a larger vehicle more suited to your needs. Although the contract is for three years, in certain circumstances they are willing to agree changes, and they’re very approachable. Alternatively you could wait and see if DD passes her test - if she doesn’t it might help your case.