How can I show that I'm disabled?
magunra2k
Online Community Member Posts: 45 Contributor
My wife is ill, she has Crohns disease and early osteoarthritis, now we are fortunate in that she is self employed and has a job that pays well enough and doesn't require her to claim benefits to top up her income.
Obviously in the future that may change, but at the moment she doesn't need or want to claim any benefits, but that said some non financial entitlements would be very useful for her and some i think she has a genuine need for, also sometimes we find that proof of disability is required for certain things ,but the proof asked for is that you are in receipt of a state benefit.
So is someone who isn't claiming a benefit not classed as disabled ?
or can someone be classed as disabled without applying for a benefit? if so how?
Obviously in the future that may change, but at the moment she doesn't need or want to claim any benefits, but that said some non financial entitlements would be very useful for her and some i think she has a genuine need for, also sometimes we find that proof of disability is required for certain things ,but the proof asked for is that you are in receipt of a state benefit.
So is someone who isn't claiming a benefit not classed as disabled ?
or can someone be classed as disabled without applying for a benefit? if so how?
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Hi @magunra2k The legal definition of disability is that there must be a physical or mental impairment that has a substantial and long term adverse affect on the ability to carry out normal day to day activities. How you can prove that without claiming benefits I'm afraid I do not know but your wife is not alone in being frustrated by this situation. Perhaps someone with more knowledge than me will be able to offer you more than just sympathy for your situation.
Best wishes.
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What sort of non-financial benefits are you thinking of?0
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Access to disabled toilets, blue badge as her mobility is getting worse , sometimes companies offer reduced rates for disabled members to places like swimming pools , the price isn't the issue but getting access is.
Im curious if essentialy the only way you can be considered officially disabled is to apply for a benefit even if you don't need the money? Can she apply and be considered officially disabled but be refused payments based on her income?
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Anyone can get a radar key, online shops that sell disability and mobility aides sell them for a reasonable price. Some local services might also sell them, like our service that rents out wheelchairs and scooters has them.
I looked at the criteria for a blue badge and although being on benefits means you automatically can get one, people who can prove they have trouble with mobility also can apply and don't need to be on PIP or anything. I would ring the council and tell them you would like to apply for a badge and are not on PIP so would like to know how to get one.
https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/197719/can-i-get-a-blue-badge.pdf
I don't think there's anything wrong with claiming PIP if you don't need the money either. Like the above says you could use it later when it is needed, or even give it to charity if you really don't want it but if you have to claim it to access things you need i would do that. So swimming you should claim it.
Pretty sure PIP is not affected by income and shouldn't affect that as DLA never did but this government seems to enjoy collecting taxes so they may have changed that. and carers UK says it doesn't also.
https://www.carersuk.org/help-and-advice/financial-support/help-with-benefits/personal-independence-payment
-PIP can be paid regardless of your income, savings or National Insurance contribution record and is a tax free benefit.
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Hi
May I just correct this slightly.
"I looked at the criteria for a blue badge and although being on benefits means you automatically can get one, people who can prove they have trouble with mobility also can apply and don't need to be on PIP or anything"
Being on benefits doesn't mean you automatically get a badge. It's changed since PIP came in. Some people will automatically get a badge.
Everyone else will need to apply and its council dependant. So you need to check what your local council wants as it's criteria.
For some that's the backing of physio etc.
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So essentially you are not officially disabled unless you claim a state benefit?
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Can I just add that the system is a little bizarre for some people.
I qualify for a mobility car- but I cannot drive it.
I don't qualify for the blue badge using someone else's.
I struggle with public transport and qualify for the pass.
But they do NOT want evidence of benefits received. They want a copy of the blue badge- apparently that's a no. DVLA refusal/ revoke or gp letter.
Happy days.
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i meant mobility benefits, sorry, and even on checking that it says the highest rate of mobility only.
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She is self employed , provision has been made for a sudden Chrohns flare up, and even if we lose her income for a prolonged period we will be okay and if that was the case we could apply for the relevant benefits.Username_removed said:Nice summary at https://www.nhs.uk/chq/Pages/2571.aspx?CategoryID=155&SubCategoryID=155. There’s no such thing as registering as disabled.
Realistically, she needs to be looking at a claim to PIP at minimum. This will passport to numerous other benefits although all are essentially financial in nature. The other side of it is that she’s self-employed. A Crohn’s flare up can happen at any time after years of okay health. Then what? She won’t get SSP so what provision has she made for a period of sickness? Having PIP sat in the background will be very handy if there’s a sudden dramatic fall in her income.
But that isnt really the issue, the issue is, does she need to claim a benefit to be classed as disabled ? if the answer is yes then what about the people who dont want to claim a benefit but are technically disabled? , surely being classed as disabled should not have anything to do with being given money from the government and everything to do with a persons condition?
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Yes but only the moving around component.feir said:i meant mobility benefits, sorry, and even on checking that it says the highest rate of mobility only.
If you get the other enhanced, you need to prove your case to the individual council.
Pip accepts other mobility issues, the blue badge/ council might not/ doesn't.3 -
Can’t you ask you gp to guide you to the correct place, mybe they know of what help you may get in your area.
Just a thought. Hope you get it sorted
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And this right here is one of the main reasons why my wife is reluctant to make any claims, because the systems and check and balances seem t be controlled by crazed baboons ,it almost seems like its not worth the effort to make a claim when you dont need to , she doesnt want to spend a ridiculous amount of time chasing and appealing etc and adding to the pool of people who are already struggling to make sense of the benefit system.whistles said:Can I just add that the system is a little bizarre for some people.
I qualify for a mobility car- but I cannot drive it.
I don't qualify for the blue badge using someone else's.
I struggle with public transport and qualify for the pass.
But they do NOT want evidence of benefits received. They want a copy of the blue badge- apparently that's a no. DVLA refusal/ revoke or gp letter.
Happy days.
I was just hoping there was a way to register and prove disability without involving the benefit system,seems crazy that they want to encourage disabled people into work as much as possible but you cant be disabled without making a claim??0 -
Op.
You need to check the criteria for you local council and see what proof they want to access the services you refer to.
Being on benefits doesn't always mean you will get access to them either. The council dealing with public transport here doesn't except pip as a criteria for the section I fit into.
Pip isn't about the condition, it's about how it effects you day to day. So you would show how you are effected with mobility. I wouldn't know what crohns is without looking it up. Apologies there for my ignorance. But the assessor and DM probably know either!0 -
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Pip might encourage you to take up work, but if you did that tomorrow, its a change of circumstances that the dwp need to know about.
A person needs to start somewhere and this is one of the problems? The actual starting somewhere.
For esa, the website says " the general rule is no work, but there are exceptional circumstances"
That's not much of a stepping stone Imo.
You can get permitted work apparently, but you would be over the tax allowance, you lose your housing benefit, possibly lose the pip award and ESA will get reduced- because they take you out of the support group.
Friend just been through all that and made themselves ill being on less money because pip said your fine!
https://www.turn2us.org.uk/Benefit-guides/Employment-and-Support-Allowance-Permitted-Work/What-is-permitted-work
It almost stands for Extremely Stuck Award.
Though improvement on Income Support permitting just £20 a week!0 -
So that site is giving the wrong information to people?
Why is that not being corrected?0 -
That NHS link you gave is too. It was even updated 2 days ago but mentions claiming DLA but you can't claim that any more? No mention of PIP at all.whistles said:So that site is giving the wrong information to people?
Why is that not being corrected?
Seems this government haven't got a good handle on their official sites.
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