Any appointees or welfare rights bods about please? Quick question about UC review and savings evidence

[Everybodyneedssometime]

Background:
I am the appointee for my profoundly disabled young adult DC. She is entitled to UC including LCWWRA. I receive and administer this on her behalf and she has no accounts in her own name. To keep her small amount of savings separate from mine as far as possible, I have put them into my Premium Bonds account. The majority of PBs are hers (i.e. she is the beneficial owner) and I had a smaller amount already in there.

My question:
UC have been in touch via the online journal to conduct a routine review. They have accepted that she does not have any bank accounts or photo ID because of her disabilities, so they are now just asking for evidence of her savings. I had properly notified them of her Premium Bonds (under £6k) at some point in the past via the online journal, explaining that they are held in my name but she is the beneficial owner. How is a UC review meant to operate in the circumstances of a profoundly disabled person without capacity or accounts in their own name and who has an appointee? What is required of me in this situation, specifically whether I am required to provide UC with my own Premium Bond account statement to prove her savings?

TIA

If it's under 6k it won't affect anything anyway. Just put in the journal the explanation you gave here, that it's under your name but belongs to her. Then offer the details of the account if they ask. You can say in the journal entry you'd like a call or more details if you're unsure what they require for this meeting. But don't worry.

Thank you for your reply and reassurance @DiscoBob

There isn't a meeting, or at least one hasn't been mentioned, just a 'to do' to upload the evidence of her savings onto the online UC account (account/claim in her name but I deal with it all) to enable the review.

Sorry, no I'm sure there isn't if they haven't said.

Just upload the bank details of the account in which it's held and explain it's not in her name as you're her custodian due to her disabilities. And ask if there's anything else they need.

Do you have poa and is she over 18?

I won't be able to help but am interested as I amin a similar situation to you and assume that this would be fine if you have poa and she is over 18 or you have the equivalent for profoundly disabled people (can't remember the name of that).

Deputyship is the equivalent in England & Wales. (When someone has never had capacity so couldn't have given POA). But it is more of a pain to obtain.

Just provide the paperwork even if it is in your name. And explain.

OP doesn’t need property and financial affairs LPA or deputyship if benefits are DD’s only income/capital. Appointeeship will suffice.

DH is a guardian for a relative. We notified National Savings and sent copies of the relevant documents. They are shown in his account but specify the relative is the beneficiary. There is a section on the NS&I site explaining what is required. This also means that you can purchase up to the max holding for youse,f if required.

Guardianship is different to being appointee. Being appointee won’t allow OP to manage premium bonds in DD’s name. Even if DD went down the Deputyship/Guardianship (depending where she lives) route, it wouldn’t solve the current situation of needing to provide evidence to UC.

I provided the PB record and added an explanation to the journal as advised by pps, thank you.

I now have a phone appointment for my DD's review and it says to allow an hour. As a 24/7 carer it will be extremely difficult if not impossible to be on the phone for that length of time.

Does anyone know what to expect during the phone UC review appointment as an appointee please? DD receives UC and LCWWRA. PIP also but I don't think that is relevant for the UC review?

If there is a specific time that is more convenient because of your caring role, ask for the call to be rearranged.

Being in receipt of PIP itself isn’t relevant and it isn’t counted as income, but if you save it, it counts towards capital.

I wouldn’t expect the call to last an hour in your circumstances. They will go through income and capital. They may check you understand your responsibilities as appointee and that nothing has changed with the claim.

Thank you flawlessflipper.

There is no reliably better time unfortunately so I think I may as well leave it as it is and see how we get on on the day. If I can't do it at the time or have to end the call prematurely then I will just have to explain and rearrange. I assume that would be ok? It will have to be really. I'm going to have to either go without sleep to do it or do it at the same time as providing high needs care. There isn't really a good time to talk on the phone and so I very rarely do except for a minute or two.

I'm sure that I remember being told or reading that UC aren't meant to do the random automatic reviews like this for people in our situation and they are conducted instead as a light touch desk/paper exercise. I don't know if I've got that wrong or if UC have?

That should be OK. As you say, it has to be! I would explain at the start of the call.

They can undertake such reviews.