Mental Health

Hi Emily,

Do you know if the benefit you applied for was disability living allowance (DLA) or personal independence payment (PIP)? In any case, it might be worth claiming again (or taking the appeal of your previous decision further, depending how far you got with that and how long ago it was). PIP, which is now the benefit for new claimants between 16 and 65, is supposed to take mental health conditions into account. It does that by looking at activities such as engaging with people. PIP is a benefit for the extra costs of disability though; it's not related to whether or not you can work.

ESA is a benefit for people who have what's called limited capability for work. That might apply to you, and you can claim Universal Credit for the same reason (it replaces the income-related part of ESA). So you absolutely don't have to actively seek work to claim Universal Credit. If you're in a 'full service' area (you can check with your postcode on this website), then you can claim Universal Credit, and supply sick notes from the beginning of your claim so that you don't have to look for jobs. After an assessment period, you should be assessed to see if the DWP agree that you have limited capability for work. 

If the website says that 'gateway conditions' apply, then you can claim ESA.

I hope this helps. Do post back if you have more questions.

Will