'Worrying' number of teens lose disability benefits

Teenagers with incurable conditions are among hundreds a week being stripped of disablement benefits aft their 16th birthdays.

Nearly a 3rd of those who received Disability Living Allowance (DLA) successful puerility had claims for Personal Independence Payment (PIP) rejected erstwhile trying to determination to the big benefit, BBC investigation has found.

Disability foundation Scope said a "complex, adversarial and hard to navigate" strategy contributed to the rejections.

With wide benefits betterment proposals expected wrong weeks, Prime Minister Keir Starmer this week called the existent strategy "unsustainable, indefensible and unfair".

The conditions astir apt to effect successful a refused assertion were those that whitethorn beryllium managed much successfully by an big than a child, similar diabetes oregon asthma, experts said.

But among those to person had claims rejected since PIP's instauration successful 2013 are thousands surviving with life-changing conditions including cancer, blindness, psychosis, deafness and epilepsy.

The 124,000 young radical affected since past see Holly Crouch, who said the determination by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) had near her feeling "like a burden" erstwhile "nothing changed but my age".

She said she had been refused PIP erstwhile she applied arsenic a teenager, contempt providing grounds from specialists saying she was astatine hazard of sudden, life-threatening epileptic seizures.

Miss Crouch said the DWP had decided she nary longer needed enactment due to the fact that she had been seizure-free for respective weeks.

Holly's parents subsequently mislaid their Carers' Allowance payments but inactive person to supply changeless supervision.

The 21-year-old from East Sussex said: "My information has not magically disappeared and I'm not faking this.

"Everything was taken truthful rapidly and I felt angry, neglected and similar I hadn't been believed. It was truthful hard to woody with."

Holly said she had mislaid 3 jobs due to the fact that of her epilepsy and had to "rely connected others for everything" without PIP.

"I'll ne'er consciousness similar an big arsenic I can't bash things everyone other is capable to, similar thrust oregon work," she said. "My parents adjacent person to beryllium determination erstwhile I ablution oregon boil a kettle arsenic I could person a seizure.

"I recognize determination could beryllium changes to conditions, but that's what reviews are for - you shouldn't conscionable person your wealth stopped astatine 16 erstwhile you are not aged capable for the process."

James Taylor, Scope's enforcement manager of strategy, said the fig of young radical losing retired connected fiscal enactment was "worrying".

He called connected the authorities to enactment with disabled radical and "fix our breached payment system".

Three-quarters of those deemed ineligible for PIP had failed the DWP's points-based assessment, according to BBC analysis.

While appeals tin beryllium lodged and immoderate radical bash person higher awards nether PIP than DLA, the BBC heard of young radical refused benefits contempt the important interaction of their disabilities connected regular life.

They include:

• Several who reportedly failed the appraisal due to the fact that they were capable to enactment part-time oregon be schoolhouse oregon college
• A teen with Down's syndrome who told his PIP assessor helium could bash everything helium was quizzed about, but did not explicate the intensive enactment helium needed to bash so
• A teen with learning difficulties who said helium could navigator for himself but did not notation helium had breached respective microwaves successful trying to bash so

Concerns were repeatedly raised astir PIP assessors lacking cognition of circumstantial conditions and decisions being taken without recourse to aesculapian grounds oregon contacting those progressive successful a claimant's care.

Disability and payment rights organisations accidental the strategy results successful wrongful decisions, with DWP outcomes often overturned astatine tribunal.

The Royal National Institute for Blind People, Epilepsy Society, the National Autistic Society and Contact are among those calling for accelerated reform.

• Personal Independence Payment is simply a payment for over-16s with semipermanent carnal oregon intelligence wellness conditions

• It is not means-tested and aims to money the other surviving costs associated with having a disability

• Assessments absorption connected however susceptible idiosyncratic is of surviving independently and usage a series of questions astir regular activities

• Points are awarded based connected the individual's abilities and what assistance they need

• Those points are added up to find whether the threshold for a assertion is met

• A 3rd enactment - similar a genitor oregon carer - tin use to correspond idiosyncratic without the capableness to bash truthful themselves

A caller Resolution Foundation study recovered the fig of young radical successful receipt of disablement benefits falls importantly betwixt the ages of 15 and 17.

The think-tank said the nonaccomplishment to suffice - oregon use for - PIP was leaving galore "facing a fiscal cliff-edge" arsenic they approached adulthood.

Fightback4Justice, which advocates for disabled radical successful the payment system, has called for the process to beryllium much transitional.

Its founder, Michelle Cardno, said: "Young radical are being treated arsenic adults from the time they scope 16, erstwhile astir bash not recognize the system."

Sally Donley acted for her lad Euan Hawes erstwhile helium was invited to modulation from DLA to PIP.

She says she spent 2 hours talking with an assessor astir the interaction of Euan's disabilities, which see autism, obsessive compulsive upset and sensory processing disorder.

"His appraisal was with a caregiver who had nary inheritance successful his issues and helium ended up lone scoring points for not mixing with others," said Ms Donley, from Hampshire.

"Because I said helium could navigator eggs successful the microwave, they said helium could navigator for himself and they said helium goes to assemblage independently - but it's a specializer assemblage helium travels an hr successful a taxi to."

Euan's assertion was refused, but the determination was yet overturned and helium was granted PIP's highest rates erstwhile Ms Donley took the DWP to a tribunal.

"The accent this puts connected families is horrendous and cruel," she said. "You person parents trying to attraction for children with disabilities and they're having to instrumentality hours to stitchery grounds for tribunal appeals.

"They request to perceive and they request to look astatine aesculapian evidence."

The authorities is being called upon to bring the remainder of the UK successful enactment with Scotland, wherever the modulation to big disablement benefits tin present instrumentality spot astatine 18.

Ms Donley, who supports those calls, added: "Euan's 18 present and I'm inactive warring for him. I cognize I'll beryllium warring for him until my past breath."

A DWP spokesperson said: "Building connected our Get Britain Working White Paper, we volition bring guardant proposals for reforming the wellness and disablement benefits strategy wrong weeks, truthful that it provides children, young adults and their families with the enactment they request successful a mode that's just connected the taxpayer, and helps those who tin enactment unafraid employment."

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