Child Tax Credits and Child Benefit have ended suddenly. Expecting Housing Benefit to end too. Full-time carer of severely disabled young adult. Your best advice please?

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I received a leaflet some weeks ago, explaining that Child Tax Credits and Housing Benefit are being phased out and that I would receive a letter with a date to apply to migrate over to Universal Credit. I have not received that letter so far. Child Tax Credits and Child Benefit have instead suddenly ended, and I assume that this also means Housing Benefit will stop almost immediately too. From what I can gather, this is because my severely disabled young adult DC has just turned 20 and Child Benefit and Child Tax Credits can no longer be paid from this age onwards. They had continued until 20 as DC has long been educated at home because of the severity and nature of the disabilities.

Losing the Child Benefit and Child Tax Credits, (and assuming Housing Benefit too), has left us with no income at all now except my weekly Carer's Allowance and the DC's PIP.

I care 24/7 and it is very demanding physically and emotionally. I get very little sleep and I am permanently tired. I have little to no time and opportunity to sort out this loss of benefits, and yet I will have to if we are to have enough money for food, utilities, rent, council tax, petrol and so on. It is a private landlord and I include petrol as our (old) car is essential as we live rurally and public transport is not accessible with my DC. We live in England.

Is there anyone with the knowledge and experience to give me a step by step guide of what I must do and what to expect please? Please remember if replying that I am very tired and have my hands full. Please also assume little or no benefits knowledge - for example I wasn't even aware that I should also have been receiving Income Support for all this time before now.

Sincere thanks in advance.

Universal credit?
Think there is a carers element and housing element.
Is it just you and your son?

You can start the claim for universal credit on line. There is an adult element. For you both a disability premium for your adult child. Carers element and housing part for your rent.

For in to this asap. Once it's done you can arrange for an advance. This can be sorted. Try not to panic.

I think you may be better making an appointment with a benefits advisor at citizens advice - they can be very knowledgeable.

Your local CAB should be able to offer some guidance. Some local councils have schemes that help with benefits advice. A local carers support charity may also offer advice and help.

You are both eligible to apply for Universal Credit account each. This is the link of you want to do it for yourself.

https://www.universal-credit.service.gov.uk/start

I would encourage you to speak to your local carers centre as they will have benefits specialists and help you to access other supports and plan for the future.

Look up Citizens advice- help to claim universal credit. Your adult DC can claim in their own right (you may need to apply to be their appointee if you need to claim on their behalf). Depending on their care needs they may also be entitled to PIP (personal independence payment).

You can also make a claim for yourself.

I will post the link for you x

08001448444 this is the number

If this isn’t the correct option they should be able to point you in the right direction x

go and join benefits and work for advice, they are excellent

Just to answer a couple of points -

I would have to make and deal completely with any claim for my DC as the disabilities include severe/profound learning disabilities.

Any advice would have to be on the phone as I couldn't take or leave my DC.

I have another DC away at university, so just the two of us at home now.

At what age can a disabled person claim UC? Is it the September after they finish school?

Sorry just seen that they already do get PIP
But definitely try that number x

Does your child claim PIp - if so and it is high rate mobility then you can apply for a car rather than receive the money ( this would save money in the long run as they pay for insurance , tax, tyres etc you only pay for petrol). Also if they claim Pip then they can make a claim for UC in their own right and if they are as disabled as you say then they can probably get LCWRA which with their Pip claim would total approx £900 for them.

You can claim council tax rebate for them as well .
Will think of other stuff and come back to you

Citizens advice ‘help to claim’ were so helpful, I am an appointee for my sister who gets both Universal Credit and PIP now, they are very knowledgeable, and will talk you through making the claim and the different elements they would be entitled to

Your local carers centre would be able to support you either on the phone or do a home visit.

You can apply online for your adult child and ask to be made their appointee with the DWP.

CB and CTC will have ended due to your child's age. HB should continue but with a migration over to UC. However that is a lot of changes in a short time, I personally wouldn't trust the migration, and I don't think the transitional relief rules would apply (because CTC stopped). So my recommendation would be for you to start UC claims for both yourself and your child (as an adult). You'll be a carer, and they'll be assessed for disability benefits. You can start it online at any time, you may find you don't need to see any advisors if all your information is straightforward. Don't delay wondering about this, the clock is ticking.

It might be worth contacting CAP.

They most commonly help people in debt but I have a feeling that they also have advisers who are trained in supporting people needing to claim benefits.

If that's the case, one big advantage of them is that they'll come to your house. They'd be understanding about interruptions from your son being there and about you having limited time/energy to do things or even - when you're exhausted - to take on board lots of new information.

https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/about-us/contact-us/contact-us/help-to-claim/

Hi, I advise on benefits and other things.

You need to apply for Universal Credit as soon as possible. It is straightforward to apply - you do it online and could do it tonight if you wanted:
https://www.gov.uk/universal-credit/how-to-claim

However, there is help available if you would like someone to explain it to you and answer your questions. Citizens Advice has a dedicated 'Help to Claim' team; you can call them on 08001448444 or use the web chat option at
https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/benefits/universal-credit/claiming/helptoclaim/#h-talk-to-us-online

There is usually a 5 week wait for the first payment but you can request an advance payment which will be paid more quickly.

You need to do this ASAP as a priority. I will post again with other steps to take after that, but if you need to focus on one thing at a time, ignore my next post until you have submitted your UC claim.

You need to make 2 universal credit claims. One in your name for you and one as appointee (I assume you are already appointee because PIP is already being claimed?) for DC.

For DC, unless you have previously made a credits only ESA claim and LCWRA has already been established you will need to get a fit note from the GP.

Separate to UC:
Are you receiving a discount for your council tax? DC can be exempt due to SMI and you can be discounted as a carer, so you will then get a 50% discount.
Have you had social care assessments? Have you looked at CHC funding?
Does DC have an EHCP?

Adult DC now needs to make their own claim for UC. You can apply to be their appointee and act on their behalf.
If the tenancy is in just your name you also make a claim for UC for yourself but for the housing costs element as well as a carer element- it's such a shame you have missed out on claiming Income Support- sounds like you should have had a top up for years.
Check Council Tax support via your Local Authority- it is separate from UC. It's a lot to navigate so contact Citizens advice or a carers organisation for help to make sure you get all you are entitled to.

Thank you very much to everyone who has replied and tried to help so far.

Just to clarify that as part of their disabilities my DC couldn't cope with a home visit from a stranger at all and so I will have to do everything on the phone, online or by post.

Could I ask everyone to avoid using initials without explaining them please, as I mostly don't know what they refer to. Thanks.

After submitting your UC claim, some other steps to take:

• Contact your local Citizens Advice (find them at https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/about-us/contact-us/contact-us/contact-us/#h-find-your-nearest-citizens-advice) as they can talk you through your options and, if needed, help you to apply for a food bank voucher and/or a charitable grant for a supermarket voucher to tide you over until your next benefit payment. They can also advise about benefits and other issues.

• Contact your local council's benefits team to tell them that your child has turned 20 and your CB and CTC have stopped. (Look on the website, there should be a benefits section and a page for change of circumstances.) Tell them you are claiming UC but you have no other income in the meantime (apart from CA and your child's PIP) so your HB claim should continue. You should get the "2 week run-on" which means your HB will be paid for up to 2 weeks after you claim UC. Also you should continue to get Council Tax Reduction (in other words you shouldn't have to pay council tax).

• Apply for UC on behalf of your child. You might already be an appointee for their PIP claim? But if not, you will need to apply - see https://www.gov.uk/become-appointee-for-someone-claiming-benefits

Good luck x

Don't mean to derail, but I'll be going through this soon. My dd gets enhanced rate PIP. Will claiming UC be straightforward, or will she have to be assessed for work? I don't understand the different groups such as LCWRA etc

@EmptyLogBasket
from my pp
ESA = employment and support allowance
LCWRA = limited capability for work and work related activity
UC = universal credit
SMI = severe mental impairment
CHC = continuing healthcare
EHCP = Education, Health and Care Plan