The parents of a severely disabled teenager claim they have been forced to spend hours searching for jobs their son is physically incapable of doing, in what they describe as a 'nightmare' ordeal with the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP).
Family's struggle with DWP over disabled son's benefits
Connor Donnelly, from Mauchline, East Ayrshire, is wheelchair-bound, blind, non-verbal and barely able to sit up, having been starved of oxygen at birth. Since turning 18 and leaving school in May, his father Steve, 46, and mother Helen, 44, say they have been locked in a relentless struggle to prove he is unfit for work while claiming Universal Credit.
Unable to bring him to their local job centre, which is inaccessible for his wheelchair, the family requested a face-to-face assessment. However, in the meantime, they claim they were instructed to continue searching for suitable employment for him.
'What they asked is a physical impossibility'
Steve told the Record: 'Both myself and my wife are feeling embarrassed and hurt. With Connor's disabilities, every day is a challenge. You're having to fight for absolutely everything. We explained his complex needs and it just fell on deaf ears. The woman on the phone was saying he needs to stick to his commitments and do this and that.'
'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 and what we've been put through is an absolute nightmare.'
'At one point we were sitting thinking 'is it really worth it for what he'll actually get?' I then realised there is bound to be someone else out there like us, going through the same struggle.'
Universal Credit rates and disability payments
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 simultaneously receiving separate disability living assistance. Should a health condition or disability impact your capacity to work, you could be entitled to additional monthly payments on top of your standard Universal Credit allowance. The precise monthly additions are determined by your assessment results.
Additional challenges after turning 18
Connor, who has a big brother and three younger sisters, attended Willowbank School in Kilmarnock until earlier this year and had previously been entitled to the benefit while in full-time education. Now that he has reached adulthood, Steve revealed that the demands placed on the family alongside caring for his complex needs had hit them 'like a freight train'.
He said: 'We had to go through the courts to get guardianship for him because he's non verbal and we've only got that for five years. We've already had a battle over his motability car and had to prove he was disabled enough to have a vehicle every year.'
'His condition is not going to improve. As he's getting older it's getting more complex. It's not as if he is going to miraculously be able to walk one day. It's never going to happen. His mum has had to sit and fill out his motability forms every year in tears, noting down everything that's wrong with him.'
'That has been recently resolved but Universal Credit is still the issue and what's happened with the job centre has just been a disaster. His mum is his carer. The job centre said 'you can come in and sign on for him'. But is she supposed to leave him sitting at home?'
'Currently, Helen is his appointee and she has had the commitment to do two hours of jobs searching a week for Connor. If anyone had actually seen him we wouldn't have had to waste time doing this.'
'There's not a job out there that he could possibly do. We also have to provide sick lines to say he's not fit for work until this gets sorted out.'
Home assessment promised but never materialised
The family claim they were initially promised a home assessment for Connor, but it never materialised. Steve explained: 'We sought help from the doctors to try and put this to bed but were hitting a brick wall. It's not even the money aspect, it's gone beyond that now.'
'It's about what they're putting us through. The government seem to be bending over backwards to help others but we, who have worked all our days, are being treated like this.'
It is understood that Connor's file has since been updated to include a voluntary activity to contact his local council to seek places for social activities. The family said they were not aware of the update last night.
A DWP spokeswoman said: 'We understand this is a difficult situation. Connor Donnelly's status was confirmed via telephone appointment, and he has not been required to attend an in-person appointment in relation to work.'
'Appropriate work-related requirements were set and tailored to the claimant's individual circumstances, and a further telephone appointment has been arranged about this.'
