Maintenance loan - I’m an idiot

[Allthebabies24]

Hi guys, please talk to me like I’m an idiot as I’m confused.

my son is studying a HND and only applied for tuition fee loan last September as he lives at home and we paid for all his outgoings. He is in receipt of enhanced rate PIP due to his autism. He does pick up shifts occasionally however to the detriment of his college work as the independent learning aspect is tricky due to his ASD so we mostly funded it all.

unfortunately our circumstances have changed and we are going to be in receipt of UC rather then tax credits and he is not covered on this. So we are effectively at least £126 per week worse off and cannot sustain his outgoings. He cannot claim UC as he wasn’t assessed as limited capability for work prior to his course - so ive been told he needs a maintenance loan.

can anyone clarify this is correct and if so - when they ask for family income do we include all benefits we receive ( even though they aren’t for him but for his disabled siblings needs)? I feel awful we can’t afford to fully support his costs.

thank you

I am no expert but think he does need a maintenance loan yes. And household income needs to include all income within the household

What are his outgoings and why does he need a maintenance loan? I don't understand why he would need this if he's living at home.

His outgoings are roughly ( I’ll confirm with him later)
train travel £100 per month
uber £20-30 month
food £50-60 per week
rent contribution £40 per week
phone £40 per month
contact lenses £28 p month
socialising £50 per month
clothing £30-50 per month
socialisation group £40 per month

his food and clothing is possibly higher than normal as due to his additional needs / autism he eats a very particular diet and his clothes get ruined as he picks at them ( we have tried numerous fidgets / other outlets)

as much as we would love to fund him entirely we are currently reliant on full benefits due to his siblings significant complex disabilities and UC are insistent he should be contributing to the household as he’s now an adult.

From September we will be also be subject to a further £90 deduction I believe due to him turning 21 … I’m trying to also make an appointment with an adviser

Also - the Ubers aren’t frivolous it’s for when trains are cancelled etc as he can’t manage the stress of switching routes due to ASD ( we are also working on this)

@Hoplolly Students living at home still need money for travel, clothes, toiletries, going out etc, even if parents can support by providing food, bills etc. It's quite normal for such students to have the maintenance loan. It's not as much as students living away from home receive.

As you get UC he’s entitled to the full amount of loan for someone living at home. This means that he’ll get £8610 a year based on your income. Your UC and other benefits are non taxable and so doesn’t need to be declared as income; the only exception to this is Carer’s allowance. I presume he’s not on the UC claim directly but is rather listed as a non-dependant? If he’s in receipt of PIP himself, the £90 deduction doesn’t apply https://www.turn2us.org.uk/get-support/information-for-your-situation/universal-credit-uc-housing-costs-element/universal-credit-uc-what-if-i-have-another-adult-living-with-me I would get a Student Finance application as quickly as possible as they can take a while to process.

I understand that, my daughter lives at home but her part-time job covers all of that (and she's not earning a fortune or working a load of hours - probably 10-15 hours a week) but I understand OP's difficulties.

Has he applied for DSA (Disabled Students Allowance)? That can often pay for things like taxi travel (not the full cost but the difference between that and the bus fayre.

UC will be assuming that he is getting a maintenance loan and so yes, should be contributing to the household.

Don't worry about what you do/don't need to declare, they check via your national insurance number so you won't get it wrong. I think if you are getting UC then he will be entitled to the full loan amount but you need to get the application in quickly, the deadline was weeks ago for DS.

What you will also need to do is apply based on your previous year's income, and then apply to be re-assessed due to a significant drop in income. He may be awarded the minimum amount to start with just so he gets something, then given the increased amount once it;'s all been processed.

That was a loose deadline to ensure that students' loans arrive in time for September starts. You can apply for SF up to 7 months after the course starts.

OP if you circumstances have just changed, you may need to ring Student Finance for advice, as the assessment is usually done on the previous financial year's figures. It is possible to get an in-year assessment done though.

Thank you so much you e all made it much clearer! I’m on hold to student finance now and also applying for the maintenance loan

Thanks @Seeline thats good to know, apologies Op for giving you bad info!

Thanks so much everyone - I feel like such a useless mother right now not having a handle on this, just had a terrible time with his siblings complex needs and KSTs and totally missed this. Applied for both elements of the loan, requesting DSA for a laptop ( I bought him a second hand one but it’s not great and freezes often) and made an appointment for a call from his placements finance team to check if there is anything else he should get support with.

I was very anxious about posting as was afraid about backlash for having kids I “ can’t afford” however it’s just been a genuine huge change in circumstance / life changing disabilities and it is what it is. Thanks everyone for being so kind

Under DSA he may be able to get a taxi allowance, when they do the assessment you need to tell them about the sensory issues etc be completely open ab out needs.

Yes, DSA isn''t like school where you have to fight for everythng. The assessor wants to know what difficulties he has and what they can provide to help.