Work and Pensions Secretary Pat McFadden has vowed to intervene in a family's 'nightmare' battle with the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) after they were told to spend hours hunting for jobs for their severely disabled son, Connor Donnelly. Connor, 18, from Mauchline, East Ayrshire, is wheelchair-bound, blind, and non-verbal due to oxygen deprivation at birth. His parents, Steve and Helen, were informed that there were 'work-related requirements' for his Universal Credit claim, leaving them 'embarrassed and hurt'.
Secretary of State Steps In
McFadden, the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, described Connor's case as a 'critical issue within the department he is determined to tackle'. Local Labour MP Lillian Jones visited the family and delivered a letter confirming that McFadden had instructed officials to 'take this case forward'. Jones called the family's experience 'deeply distressing' and 'wholly unacceptable'. She wrote: 'No family should have to endure unnecessary stress of bureaucracy while caring for a young person with such significant and lifelong disabilities.'
Family's Ongoing Struggle
Since Connor turned 18 and left school in May, his parents have faced an ongoing struggle with their local job centre. Unable to get Connor to the centre due to wheelchair inaccessibility, they endured a string of telephone calls discussing his capability to work. Helen, Connor's appointee, was asked to look for work for him for two hours a week and told they would need to provide sick lines. Steve said: 'I'm so angry at the fact they expected him to do job searches. We're getting questions like 'has he got a mobile phone? Has he got access to the internet? Has he got interview clothes?' We're saying 'he's in a wheelchair and can barely sit up unaided.' What they were asking him to do is a physical impossibility.'
Benefits System Under Scrutiny
A single person under 25 receives £338.58 per month in Universal Credit. In Scotland, disabled individuals can claim Universal Credit for living costs while receiving separate disability living assistance. Connor previously received the benefit while in full-time education at Willowbank School in Kilmarnock. Now as an adult, Steve said the requirements have hit them 'like a freight train'. The family has been 'having to fight for absolutely everything'. Their efforts to explain Connor's needs to the job centre fell 'on deaf ears'.
DWP Response
A DWP spokeswoman stated: 'Connor Donnelly is not required to work, and his family are not required to search for work on his behalf. The Department is in touch with the family to confirm this.' However, the family remains confused about how the claim is being handled. The Record understands Connor's claim now includes a voluntary activity to contact the local council for social activities, but the family says they are still unclear on the process.
