The number of teenagers who lose payments at the age of 16 loses

Teenagers with incurable circumstances belong to the hundreds of a week that are stripped of disability benefits after their 16th birthdays.

Almost a third of those who received a disability permission (DLA) during childhood in childhood, had rejected claims for personal independence (PIP) when he tried to move to the advantage for adults, BBC analysis found.

The charity for the disabled said that a “complex, opponents and difficult to navigate” system has contributed to the rejections.

With widespread benefits reform proposals that are expected within a few weeks, Prime Minister Keir Starmer called the current system “untenable, indefensible and unfair” this week.

The disorders that most likely result in a refused claim that could be managed by an adult with an adult than a child, such as diabetes or asthma, said experts.

But among those who have rejected claims since the introduction of PIP in 2013 thousands of life with life -changing disorders, including cancer, blindness, psychosis, deafness and epilepsy.

The 124,000 affected young people have since been Holly Crouch, who said that the decision of the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) had left her feeling ‘like a burden’ when ‘nothing changed than my age’.

She said she had been refused PIP when she applied for herself as a teenager, even though she supplied evidence of specialists who said she was at the risk of sudden, life -threatening epileptic seizures.

Miss Crouch said the DWP had decided that she no longer needed support because she had been attacking for several weeks.

Holly’s parents then lost the payments of their carers, but still have to offer constant supervision.

The 21-year-old from East Sussex said: “My condition has not magically disappeared and I don’t fake this.

“Everything was taken so quickly and I felt angry, neglected and as if I hadn’t believed. It was so difficult to deal with.”

Holly said she had lost three jobs because of her epilepsy and “on others had to trust everything” without Pip.

“I will never feel like an adult, because I can’t do things that everyone can do, such as driving or working,” she said. “My parents even have to be there if I shower or cook a kettle because I could have an attack.

“I understand that there can be changes in the circumstances, but there are reviews for that – you shouldn’t just let your money stop at 4 pm if you are not old enough for the process.”

James Taylor, strategy director of Scope, said that the number of young people who lost financial support was “worrying”.

He called on the government to work with disabled people and “repair our broken welfare system”.

According to the BBC analysis, three-quarters of those who are not eligible for PIP had the point-based assessment of the DWP failed.

Although professions can be submitted and some people receive higher prices under Pip than DLA, the BBC heard benefits of young people, despite the considerable impact of their disability on daily life.

They include:

• Differences that reportedly did not fail the assessment because they were able to work part -time or go to school or university
• A teenager with Down’s syndrome who told his PIP rating agent that he could do everything he was questioned about, but did not explain the intensive support he needed to do this
• A teenager with learning difficulties who said he could cook for himself, but not mentioned that he had broken different microwaves to do that

There were repeated concern about PIP rating agencies who were not acquainted with specific conditions and decisions that were made without using medical evidence or contacting those involved in the care of a claimant.

Organizations for the disabled and well -being rights say that the system results in unlawful decisions, where DWP results are often destroyed by the tribunal.

The Royal National Institute for Blind People, Epilepsy Society, the National Autistic Society and contact are one of those who evoke a quick reform.

• Personal independence payment is an advantage for more than 16 years with long -term physical or mental health rights

• It has not been tested and is intended to finance the extra life costs related to a disability

• reviews focus on how capable someone is to live independently and a Series of questions about daily activities

• Points are granted based on the skills of the individual and what help they need

• those points are added to determine whether the threshold for a claim has been met

• A third party – such as a parent or caregiver – can submit an application to represent someone without the capacity to do this yourself

A recent Resolution Foundation report showed the number of young people who receive the benefits for disabled people considerably between the ages of 15 and 17.

The think tank said it failed to qualify – or to request – Pip many “confronted with a financial cliff” behind when they approached adulthood.

Fightback4justice, who argues for the disabled in the welfare system, has called on the fact that the process is more transitional.

The founder, Michelle Cardno, said: “Young people are treated as adults from the day they reach 16, when most do not understand the system.”

Sally Donley performed for her son Euan Hawes when he was invited to switch from DLA to Pip.

She says that she spent two hours with an assessor about the impact of Euan’s disability, including autism, obsessive compulsive disorder and sensory processing disorder.

“His assessment was with a nurse who had no background in his problems and he only scored points for not mixing with others,” said Mrs. Donley, from Hampshire.

“Because I said he could cook eggs in the microwave, they said he could cook for himself and said he went to the university independently – but it is a specialist college where he travels in a taxi for an hour.”

Euan’s claim was refused, but the decision was eventually destroyed and he received the highest rates of Pip when Mrs. Donley brought the DWP to a tribunal.

“The stress that this puts on families is terrible and cruel,” she said. “You have parents who try to take care of children with disabilities and they have to take hours to collect evidence for legal profession.

“They have to listen and they have to look at medical evidence.”

The government is called upon to bring the rest of the UK into line with Scotland, where the transition to benefits for an adult disability can now take place at the age of 18.

Mrs Donley, who supports those calls, added: “Euan’s 18 now and I still fight for him. I know I will fight for him to my last breath.”

A spokesperson for DWP said: “Building on our Get Britain-working white book, we will put forward proposals for reforming the health and disability benefit system within a few weeks, so that it offers children, young adults and their families with the support they need in a way that is honest with the taxpayer, and helps with those who can work.”

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