UC review as Appointee for severely disabled young adult DD - proof of address and bank statements?

[BuffetedByRoughSeas]

I'm the Appointee with DWP for my very severely disabled young adult DD. She is entitled to UC with LCWWRA and Housing element (UC pays half the rent), as well as PIP. Her disabilities include very severe Learning Disabilities. She has no understanding at all of financial matters and so I have to receive and administer her benefits on her behalf. She has high and complex needs requiring 24/7 care and I provide that.

Her UC is being reviewed yet again. Every time this is a lengthy, frustrating, confusing and time-consuming process of many weeks. I have uploaded a formal letter from the landlord which gives proof of the long-term private tenancy with her named as joint tenant, address, rent, frequency and that payments are up to date. This time they are asking for further proof that she lives here in the form of a Council Tax or utility bill or tax letter from HMRC. I have explained that there is nothing like that in her name as everything is in my name. They are now asking for 'something else' to prove she lives here. What can I do in these circumstances?

Secondly they had asked for her bank statements for the last 4 months. When previously I have explained that she does not have any accounts they have accepted that and not required me to provide anything. This time they are asking for the last 4 months of my bank statements instead to show her UC going in. I can't understand why they need my bank statements for this when they already have the details of where the UC is being paid in to in their own records? Do I have to provide my own private bank statements? To be clear I support myself and don't receive any benefits at all apart from Carers Allowance. They have said I can redact them as they are my statements rather than hers. I'm not looking forward to trying to redact, save and upload umpteen pages of my statements. My privacy is very important to me and I am entitled to it, so if I do provide them what is the best way to redact them? If I overwrite my online bank statement entries with black (except DD's UC deposits and I thought the rent payments to the landlord would be a good idea) and then save them again to upload to the UC account, is that right/safe? I'm not very tech-savvy at all and seem to remember reading somewhere that the black could be removed by AI or the screen lightened to make the information readable again?

Please be kind and clear. Life is exhausting and highly stressful. It would be helpful to know if you are giving your opinion or if your advice comes from personal, professional or volunteering experience. Many thanks in advance.

I’m sorry I don’t have any advice but just sending solidarity - I help a family member with his UC due to mental health issues and every year when the review comes around it causes untold aggravation. It’s as though there isn’t a human element where someone with a brain can look at the situation and see what is perfectly obvious

you will need to provide your bank statements but you can redact anything that isn’t your daughters. Mencap advise opening a separate account for benefits money (I’m also appointee for my disabled son). Might be worth giving Mencap a ring to talk through the best way to manage the money going forward.

For ID can you upload her lactates PIP statement or do you have anything from social services or hospital letter?

Sympathy for all this hassle.

I'm on a Mac laptop and can safely redact PDFs by going to Tools>Redact.

On occasions when this hasn't been suitable, I've literally printed statements out and covered the private parts with a sheet of paper, then taken a photo.

So frustrating to have to do it, but it gets you there.

I'm a professional involved in benefits administration. They are absolutely not going to be sitting poring over every detail of your bank statements - who would have the time?! Just make your life easy and upload them unredacted.

The other way you can do it on-screen is to cover the text with a black box as you describe, but then screenshot it.

The screenshot image is a completely new file, not an edited version of the document, so can't be rolled back to a previous version or edited in the same way.

NB I don't know for sure whether this is proof against the screen lightening trick, but I don't see how that trick could work on the screenshotted image of black on black.

This is bad advice.

In the first place you're entitled to your privacy.

In the second place, I don't how they had the time either, but I've experienced staff using their time and the organisation's money to send me letters demanding I account for unrelated items on an unredacted bank statement I'd had to send in. I never did find out what exactly their problem was or what they imagined was happening.

Redact and then save as PDF and upload that way. They can’t edit the dark bits off a PDF. And if they could they wouldn’t be working for the benefits office they’d be in tech.

For proof of address, does your DD get hospital letters, or letters from a school or education centre, or a day centre.

Open a second current account in your name same bank and have all her bebefits paid in there (just call or write dwp /uc) and expenses makes it simpler for UC when they ask for statements
Get a doctors letter on her name confirming her address or ask surgery to provide one

What breaks do you have like day centre ir college or?
Ss letter or care plan should have her residence specified

Also she is likely to be financially assessed for ss services so is good to have separate account have her pay for laundry materials herself. Any direct expenses for her specal food or an ipad etc or social grouolps. Contribution to board etc paid to you.

As a DWP appointee you should keep your daughter’s benefits separate to your personal account.

most high street banks offer a service where you can open an account in your daughters name while you manage the account.

once you have the account it will be an additional proof of address and will make future reviews and easier

The most straightforward and secure way to redact the statements is probably to print them and then go through with a marker pen.

NHS letters are usually accepted as proof of address.

One way to prove address is to apply for a provisional driving license in her name. I had to do this to get something official with my former foster sons name. He also has severe learning disabilities and lives with me under Shared Lives arrangement. He will never be able to drive but it's a good way to get proof of where he lives.

I got a bank account in former foster child's own name and I administer everything from there as I am his appointee. It's souch easier keeping his money separate. If he is ever asked to go in for review everything goes into and comes out of his own account. I take him to cash till and he draws out £50 a week for personal spending and I give him £10 of it at a time in his wallet or he'd lose it.

to prove she lives here. What can I do in these circumstances?

as your dd has very severely disabled young adult, council tax would be exempt through SMI and you could ask council tax for the council tax demand shoeing zero payment - as it would have her address on it

so you have power of attorney for your daughter? If so open a bank account in her name as her PA and alert UC to this new account and have her uc money paid in and her rent paid out of that account

going forward it will hopefully make your life easier

moving forward open up a second account just for her payments. Also if you have to take her to any in person appointments do not ever speak on her behalf re questions. Let them question her and let her answer. If she is unable to answer then they have their proof, they have their answer that she is incapable.

Thank you and to you . I have come across two or three sensible, humane, benefits staff over the years but they have definitely been in the minority and it was a rocky road to reach them. Mainly it is a dehumanising and 'banging my head against a brick wall' experience every time.

Thank you and all the very best with your son . For future UC reviews it does sound like a good idea to open another account just for her benefits to go in to. It would protect my privacy and prevent all the hassle of needing to do all the redacting - and concern that I haven't done it securely.

There has never been any SS involvement but I do have the PIP and NHS letters. I don't have a printer, scanner or smartphone and that does make uploading anything not already online very difficult. I just have a basic laptop and a phone for calls and texts. My bank statements have recently gone online and the landlord emailed me the letter.

Thank you .

I don't think that redact tool is available on an ordinary laptop? The only thing I've seen on mine is being able to use a black or other colour 'pen' to scribble over the top, but as I said I'm not very tech-savvy.

Your method of printing them out and covering the relevant parts with paper seems the most secure, but without a printer and smartphone I can't do it unfortunately.

This might be a method I could work out how to do, thank you. I know they ask for uploaded files to be in pdf format - would a laptop screenshot be ok?

Yes, I would still have some concern about the possible screen lightening issue.

There is a white 'pen' available but I'm not sure whether that would be better or worse...

I agree with @PerkingFaintly.

As I say in my OP, I'm entitled to my privacy as an independent adult human being and it is important to me. Why would I want to share my private and confidential information with strangers and completely unnecessarily?

There's a risk too with media reports that not all DWP staff can be trusted, with £600k defrauded and stolen by them in just one year and £1.7m the previous year.

I'm sorry you experienced that PerkingFaintly. I have read of other people experiencing similar. It isn't at all acceptable or within their powers and job descriptions.

Thank you. It does concern me though that you say it is still possible.

Thank you. NHS letters, yes (just with the problem now of how to upload them). DD isn't able to attend any of the others.

You can print things at the library , are you near one ?