Universal Credit for disabled students: your top 5 questions answered

11 mins read

Monday 29 January 2024

Tags: Q&A, universal credit for students, facebook q&a

Last week, our family finance advisers ran a special Facebook Q&A on claiming Universal Credit (UC) for a disabled young person in education – and it’s safe to say it was our busiest session yet.

More than 100 parent carers stopped by our Facebook Group to ask questions and get expert advice on how to help their disabled child claim UC in their own right while still in education.

Though most young people in education are prevented from being able to get Universal Credit, some are able to qualify despite these rules. But the rules are complex, so countless parents took part in our Q&A to get advice.

To help those who weren’t able to take part in the Q&A, we’ve rounded up the five top questions asked during the session — have a look below!

You can also visit our Facebook Group to read through the rest of the Q&A, or take a look at our online advice for more information about claiming Universal Credit for a disabled student.

1. My daughter is 17 and in full-time education. Can she claim Universal Credit now?

There are rules that prevent most young people from being able to get Universal Credit while they are still in education. This includes most students in full-time advanced education, and most young people in full-time non-advanced education who haven’t yet reached the September after their 19th birthday. So it is unlikely that your daughter will be able to get Universal Credit at this point. The only way that she could get UC now would be if she had already established a limited capability for work and work-related activity (LCWRA) before she started receiving education in her current course. It is no longer possible to qualify as a disabled student by establishing a limited capability for work during your course.

However, even if there is little point in her trying to claim UC now, you should definitely help her to make a credits-only claim for new-style ESA as soon as possible. By making this claim, you will force the DWP to carry out a work capability assessment so that they can establish whether your daughter has a LCWRA. If she can establish a LCWRA now, this will rule her out of having any work-related conditions attached to her Universal Credit claim in the future.

Establishing a LCWRA now won’t help her get UC while she’s still on her current course. But it will help her to successfully claim UC later on if she either stops her current course and moves onto a new course, or if she decides to stay in non-advanced education beyond the August after her 19th birthday. It also means that once she is awarded Universal Credit, she will receive an additional payment (called the LCWRA element) from the start of her claim rather than having to wait three months for this extra amount to be added.

It currently takes an average of five months for a work capability assessment to take place, so it’s a good idea to get things started now by making a credits-only claim for new-style ESA as soon as you can.

2. My son is 16 and in non-advanced education, so I still get benefits for him. Should I wait until these payments stop before I help him claim UC in his own right?

If your son is in full-time non-advanced education and only aged 16, it is highly unlikely that he will be able to claim Universal Credit. It’s almost certain that he will be refused on the basis he is ‘receiving education’. The only exception to this will be if he has changed course since turning 16 and has already established a limited capability for work between turning 16 and starting any new course. In these very limited circumstances, a successful Universal Credit claim could be feasible.

However, even then it may not necessarily be a good idea, because if he gets Universal Credit in his own right this would bring to an end any payments you get for him as a dependent child – such as Child Benefit, child tax credit or child elements as part of a family Universal Credit claim. You would need individual advice about whether this would leave your household better or worse off.

Assuming he has not already established a limited capability for work, then what you should do at this stage is help him make a credits-only claim for new-style ESA. In fact, we recommend doing this as soon as possible after a child turns 16. Doing this will not affect any benefits you get for him as a dependant. This is because your son won’t actually qualify for new-style ESA itself (unless he has worked and paid sufficient national insurance contributions in the last two years), so the credits-only claim will not lead to any payments of ESA. Instead, making this claim will merely force the DWP to carry out a work capability assessment to decide if he has a limited capability for work and work-related activity (LCWRA). Since he won’t qualify to get paid ESA, the credits-only claim won’t impact on the money you get for him as part of your claim as a family. Take a look at our online advice for detailed guidance on how to make a credits-only claim for new-style ESA.

If the DWP agrees that your son has a LCWRA after carrying out a work capability assessment as part of the credits-only claim, that decision will also be binding on Universal Credit. This means that if he decides to claim Universal Credit in his own right in the future, the DWP will not be allowed to attach any work-related conditions to his claim. This will make it more likely that he’ll be able to successfully claim Universal Credit as a student later on – for example, if he decides to stay in non-advanced education beyond the August after his 19th birthday, or if he moves from one education course to another.

3. My son has already established a limited capability for work, but he’s still in education. When can he apply for Universal Credit?

You can apply for Universal Credit for your son at any time from now if he starts a new course or has a break in his education. This is because he has already satisfied a work capability assessment before starting a new course. Disabled students who get DLA, PIP or their Scottish equivalents can claim Universal Credit in their own right as long as they have established a limited capability for work and work-related activity (LCWRA) before starting their course.

Different rules apply once your son has passed the August following his 19th birthday. At that point, he could make a claim for UC regardless of whether he has started a new course or is continuing on the same course. This is because having a LCWRA will rule him out of having any work-related conditions attached to his UC claim, so his claim would not be considered incompatible with his course.

Whether he should make a claim now or after the August following his 19th birthday depends on what payments you currently receive for him (such as child benefit or child tax credits) and how much UC your son would get. For example, you could be better off as a household if you stayed on your current benefits for now and only claimed UC for your son once he is no longer a dependant in your own claim. You should get in touch with a local welfare rights advice service (such as your local Citizens Advice) or contact our helpline to get individual advice based on your family’s circumstances.

4. My daughter is 21 and studies full-time at an SEN college. Could she claim Universal Credit?

As your daughter has already passed the August after her 19th birthday, she could qualify for Universal Credit if she does not have capital or income over certain limits. The only way she can be refused is if the DWP staff member dealing with her claim decides that the education course she’s currently on is incompatible with any work-related conditions attached to her UC claim. In other words, the chances of her UC claim being successful will depend on the DWP staff member that deals with her claim and whether they are willing to use their discretion to switch off any work-related requirements (or to apply only minimal work-related requirements). If they are willing to use their discretion in this way, then she should get UC. This is because there should be no incompatibility between her course and her UC claim if it has no, or only minimal, work-related requirements. If they aren’t willing to use their discretion in this way and decide to apply significant work-related conditions to her claim, then there is a risk she will be refused Universal Credit as someone treated as “receiving education”. You can ask for a review of this decision.

However, there is something that you can do now that should guarantee that your daughter’s UC claim is accepted: that is to make a credits-only claim for new-style ESA. This is a way of forcing the DWP to carry out a work capability assessment and to make a decision about whether your daughter has a limited capability for work and work-related activity (LCWRA). If she establishes that she has a LCWRA, this will guarantee that she should qualify for Universal Credit. This is because the DWP are not legally allowed to apply any work-related conditions to a UC claim made by someone with a limited capability for work.

My advice is to make a UC claim now and, at the same time, make a credits-only claim for new-style ESA. This way, even if her initial claim for UC is unsuccessful, she should be able to make a second successful claim for UC once she has established a LCWRA after undergoing a work capability assessment as part of her credits-only claim for new-style ESA. This second Universal Credit claim should definitely be successful. The difference with this second claim will be that as someone who has both passed the August after her 19th birthday and who has established a limited capability for work, your daughter will have a legal right to have no job-seeking conditions applied to her claim (rather than this being left to the discretion of DWP staff).

5. My son’s credits-only claim for ESA was refused, but the letter didn’t say anything about his capability for work. What should I do?

It sounds like you have made a credits-only claim for new-style ESA and received a decision that your son is not entitled to ESA. Don’t be worried by this. A refusal is what you are expecting. Remember: you are NOT making a credits-only claim to actually get ESA, but simply to trigger a work capability assessment.

Now that the DWP has sent your son the decision refusing ESA, they should start the process of organising a work capability assessment for him. They should send you a work capability questionnaire to complete. If you still haven’t received a questionnaire within a couple of weeks, phone the number on your ESA letter. Ask them to confirm that they intend to organise a work capability assessment and how long this is likely to take. If they tell you that they won’t carry out an assessment, seek urgent advice.

Once you’ve completed and return the questionnaire along with any other supportive evidence you have, the DWP need to decide whether to make a decision about your son’s capability for work based solely on the paperwork. They may decide to ask for an interview over the phone/video call, or for your child to have a face-to-face consultation with a health professional. It can take several months – five months on average – for them to make a decision on your son’s capability for work. Eventually, they should contact you to confirm their decision in writing. If they accept that your child has a limited capability for work and work-related activity (LCWRA), it will say this in the letter. This decision will also be binding on Universal Credit when your son eventually decides to claim UC at a later date.

Unfortunately, establishing a LCWRA now will not allow him to claim Universal Credit while he is still on his current course. But it will help him to get Universal Credit if he moves courses or if he remains in full-time non-advanced education beyond the August after his 19th birthday.