Our Welfare Benefits team has advice for parents and carers who have a disabled child they expect to continue attending non-advanced full-time education after their 19th birthday…

Are you a carer for a disabled child that is over 16 and you expect them to continue attending non-advanced full-time education after their 19th birthday?

Generally speaking, the welfare benefit system primarily supports one group of full-time students, directs a second group to fund via Student Finance, but unfortunately does not always cater to a third group of full-time students.

The first group are younger people in non-advanced education who are part of their parent’s Universal Credit claim. The second group are students in advanced full-time education, who need to get their income from Student Finance England instead. The third group are students who are too old to be in the first group and do not fit within the second group, i.e. they are young adults who, due to their special needs, continue attending non-advanced full-time education.

To be entitled to Universal Credit, they need to meet very specific criteria and to meet them, their parents, may need to take some steps whilst they are still in the first group of full-time students.

People who are in full-time education and too old to be included in their parent’s claim for UC are not entitled to Universal Credit unless they meet specific criteria, such as being responsible for a child or living with a partner. Those rules appear to be made for students in advanced education as they can get financial support from Student Finance England. Students in non-advanced education do not have this option.

They can only get Universal Credit if they are able to look for work full-time (in addition to being in full-time education) or if they are ‘without parental support’. What do those disabled students do who live with their parents? There is another option for them – it only requires preparation. In many cases parents learn about this option only once they’ve already arrived at the cliff edge.

If the young adult is in receipt of any award of PIP and has completed a work capability assessment (WCA) and was assessed in this as having at least ‘limited capability to work (LCW)’, and if all that happened before the course of full-time education has started – then the young adult will be entitled to Universal Credit whilst being in full-time education.

Most parents of young adults with special needs know about PIP and help their children to apply. But they don’t necessarily know about ‘credits only new style ESA’. This is the name of the benefit the young adult needs to apply for to get a work capability assessment, which is needed to get assessed as having ‘limited capability to work’. The application for ‘credits only new style ESA’ can be done at any time after the child’s 16th birthday and whilst the child is in full-time education. ‘Credits only’ means that no payments will be made, because the focus is on getting the assessment outcome – whilst an advantageous side effect is that credits will be made towards their state pension entitlement.

To apply for ‘credits only new style ESA’ call 0800 055 6688 and chose option 4. The child or young adult you are applying for need to be present when you make the call and they need to have a fit note form their GP. When calling, make clear that it is the ‘credits only claim’ you want to make. Following the application, the work capability assessment will start, which is very similar to the PIP process, and you will receive a ‘Capability for Work questionnaire’ by post. Complete this and return with medical evidence. The young adult may be invited for a heath assessment by the Health Assessment Advisory Service (HAAS). If the assessment outcome is that they are not fit for work, i.e. have limited capability to work’, then the preparation for future non-advanced full-time education is complete, and they will be entitled to UC.

References:

Exceptions to the requirement not to be receiving education; see paragraph H6041 at https://hbinfo.org/wp-content/uploads/guidance/admh6.pdf

If you are an unpaid carer aged 18+ in the Manchester City Council area, please get in touch with our Contact Point team for personalised support, including welfare benefits advice.