PIP aged 16 and appointee

[SleepWhenAmDead]

I have just claimed PIP for the first time for DC aged 16 years. They said DC has to do it in her own name. I completed the form, writing about her in the third person and she read it and signed it.

So pleased she has been awarded PIP, however we have got another letter asking her to reply whether she can "manage her own affairs" and if she has an Appointee.

Am I right in thinking that as a child, she has parents, not an appointee. How much is a 16 year old supposed to manage her own affairs? She says she wouldn't be able to run her own house so she can't manage her own affairs. What is the bar for this?

I'm going to phone them tomorrow as requested, but would be grateful for any heads up, please. I think you have to be 18 to have an appointee.

The appointee is from 16 onwards with PIP.
We applied when Ds was 16 and Dh was made appointee on the first phonecall. Ds would not have been able to manage his application alone.

That’s very helpful. Thank you. When I phoned they said she had to sign it and did not mention appointeeship until now. I thought that would come from the Court of Protection, but sounds like PIP can grant it.

A Deputy appointed by the Court of Protection is completely different from an appointee.

Legally, for PIP, DD is an adult. Section 40 of the Welfare Reform Act 2012 defines a child as “a person under the age of 16”. At 16 you, as parents, have no legal right to claim PIP on behalf of DD, unless you officially become her appointee.

For Child DLA all children have an appointee, but a child under 16 does not need an appointee in the same way because Regulation 43 of the Social Security (Claims and Payments) Regulations 1987 applies.

This outlines when an appointee under regulation 57 of The UC, PIP, JSA and ESA Claims and Payments Regulations 2013 may be appropriate, and when it is not.

Being her appointee just means you can talk on her behalf, fill forms in, take phone calls for her etc. This will be very useful (as we have found) if she needs to claim further benefits as she’s older, universal credit etc. You will only be her appointee for benefits, not other aspects of her life. That’s something else entirely.

Thanks so much for all the advice. I've got that sorted now.

I feel that I've somehow overlooked a whole area and now need to learn about POA etc..

A LPA is completely separate to being appointee and both are different to being a Deputy via the Court of Protection.

There are 2 types of Deputy - one for property and financial matters and one for personal welfare. The second type is harder to become. Usually you don't need the financial type if the only income is benefits and there's no other assets because being appointee is enough. Similar for LPA - one for property and financial matters and one for health and welfare. Mencap usually have good advice on their website.