UK disability benefits

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My bf lives in England. he cant work because he is afraid to go outside. he is very depressed and nervous around people. probably has ptsd and some repressed memories.

what kind of disability can he get? how does he apply? how much would he likely receive? how does he get a flat paid for by the disability benefits.

he would ask himself but he is to nervous.

He might find this page a useful starting point.

http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/DisabledPeople/index.htm

He'll probably get enough to live very comfortably in Mongolia.........of course, he MIGHT need to leave his room to sign the forms

He should be able to get Employment and Support Allowance (the replacement for incapacity benefit).

You can claim it by getting an ESA1 form, and you can probably do it online. Alternatively, you can do it over the telephone. I have bad telephone anxiety but I managed to make the claim by telephone. It is quite easy. Mostly just simple questions.

You can 'self certify' the first seven days of the claim (like you can if you take a few days off work due to illness), but after that you need to send in medical certificates from a GP (or similar), until you have been assessed by an 'Atos doctor' (who works for the DWP).

Is he able to go to the doctors? If so, he should be able to get a 'fit note' which he can send to the DWP to get some money. If, like me, he can't, he should be able to write to the DWP and explain that he can't get a medical certificate. They should consider this, but he may not get any money until he has been assessed by Atos.

I mention this, because the 'stereotypical disability benefit claimant who posts on web forums' seems to have regular contact with medical personnel and can easily get fit notes to send off to get their money. But there are some people like me who don't have any contact with doctors or similar and hence can't send fit notes and are trying to claim benefit without them. There is very little information on the internet about how to claim benefit without a fit note.

He may also be able to get Disability Living Allowance. To claim this you have to fill in a form and write down all your problems. You may also include additional sheets of paper in case the form doesn't cover everything. I reckon your boyfriend would probably at least get the mobility component if he is too scared to leave the house.

See the DirectGov website for the amounts as for ESA the amount varies depending on age and contributions record.

Feel free to ask me more about these if you like. I am currently in the process of trying to claim both ESA and DLA but I am still waiting for the DWP to make their decisions.



He may be able to get Housing benefit, but I don't really know anything about this.

If you are on Income Support, Incapacity Benefit or ESA, you should be guaranteed to get both housing benefit and council tax benefit (unless you live with a parent/relative or guardian, or in a property owned by them). HB may not cover all your rent though, as they seem to think flats are a lot cheaper to rent than they actually are. I'm paying about £50 a month out of my income support towards my rent because of this. It also doesn't cover the deposit you need to start renting, although you can get it back dated to the begining of your tenancy, if you were on IS/ESA/IB at that time.

thank you for the info everyone!

Your boyfriend is in the same situation as me. I went lots of years not claiming what I was entitled to because of all the trouble it seems.

I dont go outside at all so working is impossible and despite having no diagnosis for agoraphobia ro anything they did recognise i havent been outside for many years and it is a problem so the claim wasnt to difficult. I usually say now its agoraphobia but got no official diagnosis. My doctor did have to see me so he can support the claim though.

Anyway what I receive is:

Disability Living Allowance(mobility component): £18.95 per week
Income Support: £93.45 per week (which also adds a disability component for claiming DLA)
Local Housing Allowance: £99.73 per week (if your rent is less you get to keep upto £15 per week.. If rent is more you pay the extra)

The Local Housing Allowance is different in every area between £90-100 a week. It is to pay rent or mortgage for a place which at about £400 a month can rent a pretty decent place.

Because of not going outside there is very few expenses so the DLA and Income support will easily pay the bills/food and leave a nice amount left over to spend. I live fairly comfortable now just locked away and I dont know if thats a good or bad thing but I am happy.

Thanks for such a detailed explanation. and hey, if your happy your happy. i think that's a good thing.

Try for middle rate care DLA because that also qualifies him for income support which means he can get a lot of extras.

He should qualify for lower rate mobility DLA if he is unable to walk outside without supervision. If he is unable to walk outside at all even with supervision he will probably not get it because the supervision has to make walking possible - it's about how much help you need - not how disabled you are.

If you know a welfare rights specialist in your area get help from them because it is a really complex legal procedure. Watch out though because some tend to exaggerate your conditions on the form which is pointless because you have to back up everything with medical evidence. It's something I'm not comfortable with.

It is usally only awarded for a period of time and then reviewed, I lost mine at review.