Lcwra education UC

lulubishopst

My young adult son has disabilities Autism and related difficulties. He claims UC whilst on his full time course and in his final year. He has been awarded 'limited capability for work' before he started his course. 3 and a half years later we havent been asked for a review. Not sure even the work coach is aware. As never been mentioned. He is in his final year from October 2024. But I got a phonecall to confirm they were closing his account because they said we should apply to student loan company for living costs. They've never said this before. I asked for a mandatory reconsideration and they are saying now they want 4 months of money back as they should not have paid him. But his circumstances has not changed and am worried they are going to ask for the whole amount back if I further challenge it. The work coach is not very interested unlike previous work coaches who were good with my son and tried to engage him in conversation. I'm his carer and been his appointee but they are now saying I have to go in and register to be his appointee even though i though it was done some years before. So the whole attitude and tone has changed. Can I also ask for someone who has disability training in someone who has complex social & communication difficulties. So he is now in debt. Can anyone advise if this is legal.

Rosie_Scope

Hi @lulubishopst, sorry to hear you're having trouble with your son's UC. There's some information about who might be eligible for Universal Credit while studying here:

Universal Credit and students - GOV.UK

The type of course he's studying can impact whether he's eligible for UC as well as a few different factors such as his age. Does he claim any disability benefits at all, like PIP?

You should be able to ask the manager of the Job Centre whether you can change to a different job coach, but it's often at their discretion. It might still be worth a try though if you're both struggling with the current coach. Hopefully you can switch to someone with more understanding of your son's conditions.

Kimi87

Advice given here

https://forum.scope.org.uk/discussion/129205/hi-my-name-is-lulubishopst-my-young-adult-son-has-disabilities-autism-and-related-difficulties