ESA

[CareBear79]

Is it worth applying for ESA for my daughter? She is 22 and is autistic and has very poor mental health including multiple suicide attempts. She has a history of sexual abuse from a partner, trauma related to school bullying, and also had to have an abortion in her teens due to an abusive relationship. She absolutely cannot work; she can barely get out of bed most days. As well as being autistic she is dyspraxic and waiting list for an ADHD assessment (also dyslexic but not sure if relevant). She has got PIP although they have just stopped the claim it is going through MR process. I have just put in a claim for UC although I am worried sick she will be made to look for jobs when she needs to heal and recover not be looking for work. Thanks for reading x

Has DD paid enough national insurance contributions to be eligible for New Style ESA? If not, she (or you if appointee) can’t apply for ESA and receive money. It would only be a credits only claim which doesn’t have any advantages over UC.

When you applied for UC did you not declare she had a disability limiting the work she can do? If DD is unable to work, she (or you as appointee) will need to submit fit notes to UC then wait for a work capability assessment to determine if she is fit to work, has limited capability for work or has limited capability for work and work related activity.

Does DD have an EHCP?

Thank you for clarifying. I don't understand how it all works at all.

I did declare she has severe MH issues and also is autistic when applying for UC but it said something about needing a note so have made a GP appointment to get a note. Can I speak on her behalf if she has an assessment regarding her ability to work? She is barely talking at the moment and won't be able to string a sentence together for an assessor.

She does not have an EHCP, why do you ask? Shall I try and get her one, would it be helpful? Thank you for your time

Whether you can speak on DD’s behalf will depend on whether you are appointee or not.

I asked about an EHCP because DD clearly needs more support than she is receiving. An EHCP can give this. DD, or you if she is unable to, can request an EHCNA using the model letter IPSEA has on their website.

Thank you for acknowledgement of this it feels like she has been badly let down by school.

I was told I cannot be appointee for her because she doesn't have a learning disability and has the capacity to manage the benefits system (although practically she absolutely can't do this her executive function is awful). But I would like to be her appointee and she would like me to be also.

Is an EHCNA like an EHCP for adults?

If DD has the capacity to manage the claim you won’t be made appointee. However, DD doesn’t need a learning disability to be deemed unable to manage it and it doesn’t sound like she can manage the claim herself, so I would request to become appointee again.

If you are not appointee you won’t be able to speak on DD’s behalf for the whole assessment. You would be able to be there with her and chip in though.

The EHCNA is what you initially request as part of the EHCP process. EHCPs can last until 25, or 26 in some cases, so even if you have to appeal, it is still worth doing.