Teen and PIP

[Sunshineandpool]

Just looking for opinions on this and what you would do.

So teen is 17. Recently been diagnosed with Autism and ADHD. They have been awarded around £600 in PIP. All fully in their name - no one acting on their behalf.

Their mother is worried about them suddenly having a lot of money that they may not spend sensibly.

Options she is considering:
Teen has half but has to save £50 of it. The other half the mother will have and will make sure it is spent on things to support the teen with their autism/ADHD

Teen has all the money

Mother has all the money and gives teen an allowance of £100 per month. The rest of the money she spends on things to help with teen's disabilities. She will also save some for the teen to give her a small financial buffer in future.

Just to clarify the money legally belongs to the teen but she is open to her mother helping to manage it.

So wwyd? One of the options or something completely different.

Then you don't know about the PIP process because that forms no part of it. If it did the government would likely end up paying more to a lot of families.

It is assessed! There is a section on PIP regarding ability to make budgeting decisions which assesses capability to handle money.

Unless she scored pts, yes handling money was assessed.
https://www.turn2us.org.uk/get-support/information-for-your-situation/personal-independence-payment-pip-assessment/handle-money

But does her DC know she can say no? It’s not consent if the teenager thinks they can’t say no, it’s not their decision.

But the ability to make their own application and manage their own money is assumed from age 16. So the assumption is that they can, before they even apply. Presumably it cuts down the number of successful applications, as people who believe they can do so without help, bit actually can't, don't make applications which tick the boxes in the right way to be awarded. Maybe I'm too cynical. But 16 year olds aren't trusted with much else legally but somehow disabled 16 year olds are assumed to be able to cope with this themselves.

Capacity to handle money is assessed under PIP.
That is completely different from mental capacity to consent to medical treatment.

But the 17 yr old did apply for PIP on their own with no one acting on their behalf.

It isn’t assumed, the form specifically has a section if it is being filled out by someone other than the claimant.

You are being too cynical, 16yr olds have jobs earning more and have full control of their bank accounts. 16yr olds also have full control of the medical records, ordering prescriptions, booking dr appointments. A disabled 16yr old isn’t getting more power or responsibility.

My 23 year old gets his pip in his account.
We have the opposite problem. His autism and severe social anxiety means he buys nothing. He has recently had his UC claim closed as it is all sitting in his bank account unused. He has 20k+
in his account. He now pays quite a hefty rent (500 a month) as he wasn't contributing to family expenses at all.

This^

They can learn, so teach.

But they can begin to. Parent can talk to teen and discuss things that PIP should cover like taxi rides, additional therapy, any destress hobbies or support groups, their prescription prepayment cert for the ADHD medication….

It's a nightmare isn't it. My dd is 17. I use her PIP to pay for private psychiatry and if she would agree, I'd pay for psychology too. Her condition has had a massive toll on the family for years, I haven't worked full time since she started school. If she were to live away from us she would absolutely need PIP to pay for a cleaner, for ready prepared food and for taxis, so I am saving it for that day.

I am appointee for my Ds . I use it for items that make life easier plan to pay for lessons when he is ready to learn to drive .

i also use it to buy additional clothing , food has specific foods he will eat , all his toiletries ..

He isn’t in college or apprenticeship so i get nothing to help with this

These are exactly the costs I am envisaging - the cost of parents who haven’t been able to secure FT working (or even work at all) because of the extra care their child needs. I think it’s a bit naive TBH to think that families with disabled young people don’t suffer more financially and so IMO it follows that the PIP helps to support their household to support them.

I agree.

Your assumption is incorrect.

@LadyKenya
@Starlingexpress

I would have to disagree, I have never specified or itemised particular costs or expenses as part of the application process

That isn’t a capacity assessment!

Be careful, if he saves over 7k it will begin to affect his entitlement.

Why are pp still adamant that PIP assesses capacity? You simply fill out the form and in many cases you have absolutely no F2F or phone interaction with DWP.

PIP isn’t meant for extra expenses relating to disability. My son gets it, it’s a daily living benefit to ensure a decent quality of life if you’re unable to earn and the amount you receive depends on your level of need. It is not intended to cover ‘disability’ costs.

Yes, that is right, no one needs to.

Yes it is there to cover extra costs. You can claim PIP whilst working, but if you are not working PIP is on top of any other benefits.

This what is said on the .gov site.

Really? I beg to differ. Plenty of people who are in receipt of PIP actually work as well, you know. It is intended to cover the extra costs that being disabled tends to bring.

No it isn't a daily living benefit, it's nothing to do with what you earn - you can work full time and still get PIP. I think you're thinking of universal credit.

People will use PIP in different ways depending what their costs are in life. For many families it will go into the overall pot of money needed to survive to the end of the month, for others it will all be spent on specific therapies. Some may save it for a more expensive item. Most will have a combination of the above.