Can my student daughter claim new style ESA?

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April

I am so confused. Can someone help me?
My daughter is at college and I was considering helping her to apply for ESA (my other daughter and son received ESA when they were students). But it seems the rules have changed and now disabled students can NOT apply for ESA. Or can they?

There's something called New Style ESA, and some websites say that disabled students can apply for this instead. But, the application form would seem to say otherwise. The form says she must have paid in National Insurance contributions in the past to qualify (she has never had a job, so never paid NI, so it seems she doesn't qualify after all). 

But, other websites say that disabled students SHOULD apply for New Style ESA (even though disabled students can't get it!), because they can use the ESA work capability assessment to apply for Universal Credit (which disabled students CAN get, apparently, but they need a work capability assessment to qualify and you can only get that via the New Style ESA application process!!).
But why would they give her a work capability assessment for New Style ESA if she's not entitled to that benefit?? Wouldn't they refuse to do one, leaving my daughter unable to use their assessment for Universal Credit? So confusing!

 I know there was a discussion on this somewhere on this board, but I can't find it. I would be so grateful for advice, because a benefits calculator tells me that my daughter is missing out on money! What is a disabled student entitled to claim: New Style ESA, or Universal Credit? Or both? And how does a disabled student get that Work Capability Assessment that seems to be a gateway to benefits?

poppy123456

Hi,

Claims for the old Income Related ESA are no longer possible because all areas are now a full Universal Credit area, with the exception of those that are claiming the Severe disability premium in another benefit, as your daughter doesn't claim this then she will not be able to make a new claim for the old ESA.

Disabled students under the age of 21 and UC is very complicated and if they have parental support they can only claim UC under certain circumstances. This is because they must be claiming either PIP/DLA and they must have already been assessed as having limited capability for work.

Does your daughter claim a qualifying benefit such as PIP or DLA? may i also ask if you claim child benefit and/child tax credits for her because she's still a student? If you do then claiming a benefit in her own right will end both of those benefits.

If she does claim PIP/DLA then the only way around this is to claim New style ESA for Ni Contributions ONLY, with a fit/sick note from her GP.  She will not receive any money until she's been assessed as having limited capability for work.

Once she's assessed, if the decision is LCW then she will be able to claim UC BUT any student loan will be taken into consideration when calculating any entitlement to UC, even if she doesn't have that loan. Whether she's taken out that loan or not, it will still be classed as income when calculating any entitlement to UC.

The other downside to this is that being assessed for LCW could take several months and sometimes longer, especially if she's not found to have limited capability for work.

Hope this helps.