Hi, my name is XXfoggy! What can my disabled adult son's ESA be spent on?

XXfoggy

Hi. I am a mum of a wonderful autistic lad with learning difficulties. He is 31 years old.

I have been his appointee since he was 16. He was in special needs schools since he was 5 and then support group in college and now goes to a day centre 3 days a week.

He lives at home with us, me and my hubby.

Last year, in February, we realised that he was being overpaid with his ESA. As another person said that they didn't realise that it should be notified after it went above £6000.

Anyway, after finally getting through, we had to send bank statements over 10 years which took ages as we had to go a hub (no bank anymore). They sent out statements eventually but didn't cover the dates requested, sent them anyway.. After several visits and 4 months later, we recieved the statements required and sent those.

We did get a letter to say that would reduce his payments by £120 a month.

We weren't charging him for board but we are now. If the government had to take care of him, it would cost a lot more.

As he is physically able, he is mentally not, to take public transport by himself. Even walking by himself could be dangerous in the world that we live in.

Could do with some advise as to what his ESA is allowed to be spent on, ie transport cost with our vehicle.

Rosie_Scope

Hi @XXfoggy, welcome to the community. That sounds like a lot of hard work getting bank statements to cover 10 years. Well done for getting through all that, what a pain!

In most cases your son's ESA can be spent on anything that helps him, including transport costs and hobbies, whatever he needs. There aren't any specific restrictions on how his money is used 😊

durhamjaide2001

hi and welcome to the forum as am autistic female I can relate to your Son. However unfortunately I'm not a expert in this area but what I can recommend that you visit the coffee lounge for some distraction or the games room for some fun.

luvpink

@XXfoggy

Hi a very warm welcome to the community.

Your sons esa can be spent on whatever he wishes to spend it on.

Does he also get pip as he may qualify for that too.

XXfoggy

Yes he does. For care and support (highest) Not mobility.

He is a fit chap and can walk miles but doesn't have the mental ability to cope with public transport.

luvpink

https://forum.scope.org.uk/discussion/comment/985659#Comment_985659

Did you ever try for mobility component because if your son doesn't have the mental ability to cope with public transport he could qualify for an award.

Kimmy87

I agree, PIP mobility doesn't just consider if a person can walk or not.

For PIP if someone is unable to do an activity repeatedly, reliably, safely and in a reasonable time frame, they are treated as unable to do the activity at all.

Standard mobility is 8-11 points, enhanced 12+

1. Planning and following journeys.

Can plan and follow the route of a journey unaided. 0 points.

Needs prompting to be able to undertake any journey to avoid overwhelming psychological distress to the claimant. 4 points.

Cannot plan the route of a journey. 8 points.

Cannot follow the route of an unfamiliar journey without another person, assistance dog or orientation aid. 10 points.

Cannot undertake any journey because it would cause overwhelming psychological distress to the claimant. 10 points.

Cannot follow the route of a familiar journey without another person, an assistance dog or an orientation aid. 12 points.

anisty

He should definitely qualify for enhanced mobility on pip as my son did and i was totally honest when filling out his form and let them know he could board a bus himself and complete a practised journey.

It was a surprise to me when he was awarded that but they referred to the fact he could travel alone on the bus in their report showing where points were awarded so they had acknowledged that and still awarded.

Reason seemed to be he could only do one practised route. And it had taken him a long time to learn it.

My son qualifies for a free bus pass and that allows him AND a companion/carer to travel free. Check with your local council to see if your son is eligible for that too.

Like your son, my son's activities revolve around his support group and his spends are way lower than the benefits he was getting so they built up and his UC was stopped.

Even charging him rent, he only spends about £10/week himself so he really didn't need UC on top of pip.

In retrospect, i wish we had started a private pension scheme for him but we never thought.

We spend some of his pip money taking him on trips. He loves London! If i take him to London, i use his money to cover the whole trip as he couldn't go alone and we do activities suited for him.

He likes his computer too and he has piano lessons.

We don't use any of his money to help with fuel costs or our car but it's perfectly reasonable to do so if you are making journeys specifically for your son. Keep a written record though, just in case it gets questioned.

XXfoggy

Thank you all so much for your messages.