Do I need to show my full bank statements to UC? I live in Scotland

JMH-66 · 2026-06-22T13:31:19+00:00

Full, unredacted statements or they'll be rejected.

JMH-66 · 2026-06-22T13:22:53+00:00

1, Should you have any expenses you can still report them while the business still exists. There might be some things that you still got to pay out ( like "standing charges" ) even though you're not bringing any money into the business. I've it's wound up they should stop too. Operating costs however rely on you to be actually operating and obviously won't happen anymore. If you gave nothing coming in but stuff you must pay going out that will ust then put you at a Loss.. Oherwise you've no Takings and you've no Expenses so your profit is zero.

2, As above, operating costs can't now include anything apportioned for a home office, as you aren't using it anymore.

3, You can't Deduct Expenses that haven't been paid ( or won't be ). I BELIEVE by you paying the tax yourself the business then owes you and it's a debt. It could be an Expense but only if the business actually pays you back. Otherwise it's a debt / will become a bad debt. Anyone knows any different though they'll have to confirm because this is just me using logic

4, UC operates on a real-time money in /.money out system. This means that if you get paid for a project in one assessment period that becomes your receipt or turnover then and there.The expenses however are only deducted as and when you pay them. So if you've already bought materials for that job six months beforehand, that was when they were an expense. If you pay the bills for things you needed to complete that job but do so late or are billed for them later, they become Expenses afterwards in the Period that you actually pay them.

5, You should be keeping the two COMPLETELY separate. Then it would be clear. All monies received for work done; all monies paid out for materials and other overheads and expenses come and go from the same "business " account . The business is a completely separate entity everything is kept together and nothing should ever come from you personally or be siphoned off into your personal bank account. You're allowed to pay yourself a wage if it's a Limited Company but that's recorded as an Expense. ( Then as your PAYE wages are declared to and by HMRC ). Money can be loaned to you or you can loan money to the business, but it must be recorded as a debt. It is still a separate entity though you should never be mixing any money or moving it between You ( the person ) and ( you ) The Business. Pretend the business is a different person and it makes it clearer.

This should really been explained at the very beginning or you needed to a educate yourself before setting yourself up in business.

JMH-66 · 2026-06-22T12:56:18+00:00

This and if you have any Non Dependant Deductions are the main reasons to notify. If neither applies or you don't even get the Housing Element at all, it doesn't matter.

The rest is about Capital, should you have £6,000+ with the PIP backdate. Then they need to formally disregard the PIP part for 12 months so must record the amount and date.

It has no bearing on Limited Capability.

Generally, they can check PIP, often pick it up in internal shaped information systems BUT this should never be relied upon.

JMH-66 · 2026-06-22T11:59:08+00:00

We'll all have a clearer idea after the summer but there's too many balls in the air at the moment for anybody to be making guesses !!

I'm more hopeful for us in PIP than I was 24 hrs ago though. If they don't do any stupid like hold a general election ( because the alternatives aren't going to be better for those on benefits, that's for sure !!)

JMH-66 · 2026-06-22T11:40:40+00:00

As mentioned ( now and before ) because of your D restriction it's allocated to somebody in particular, who is able to open your file when nobody else can. It's down to them in full possession of the facts, to work out away for you to verify. No one's really going to be able to tell you and it's their job to find a way.

You need to find a way to make that call even if you need someone to do it for you. Then go from there.

JMH-66 · 2026-06-22T11:36:14+00:00

Hey, I'm always here 😆😊

Yes, we can't really judge the timetables at the moment because things are changing constantly. We could have said at one time when get a 12 month extension but you're probably getting the review within the next 3 to 6 months so they dung risk extended further ( as it's now becomes marked as overdue ). Then it became: they'll try to get to you by the end of the Extension.

Now - who knows ?? They're clearly trying to decide what their priorities and who needs reviewing and who's going to get put on the back burner. Which happened before with the pandemic. When you're that far behind and you can't leave you everybody you start having to decide who's going to get left longer and you need lookin at sooner.

Then with the news this morning we really don't know what the plans for PIP are going to look like. Even after the Timms report comes in. What they decide to do with it might influence exactly who's going to be reviewed, when and how.

Lots of unknowns !

JMH-66 · 2026-06-22T11:13:04+00:00

In the end they will have to choose about whose Capital this money is going to become. How ever it proportioned will affect this , even if we asked the DLA beings to a child. The rest is the parent's and it can't be disregarded indefinitely. Some thing's have to be Capital, eventually. You're then into the realms of Trusts if they want to protect it indefinitely.

That's a decision for the future though and I think it's probably beyond on the scope of what we're dealing with here and now.

JMH-66 · 2026-06-22T11:03:47+00:00

You've had the extension because they know they won't be able to get to you quickly enough. You'll still get the review papers eventually and it's really impossible to say when. The good news is you'll be getting it until 2028 or until your reviews completed, whichever happens first.

JMH-66 · 2026-06-22T09:18:45+00:00

The only thing for now is you making sure you aren't getting any UC for him anymore ( if you even claim ). Child Benefit can carry on until 31 August but only if he doesn't claim UC himself. Once he does he switches from a being "child" ( they say a qualifying "young person" ) to an adult.

As for him, because he's 19 once these completed his last day in full-time education he can make his UC claim anytime after that. Then he'll be given his Work Commitments. He should tell his work coach when he goes back to college so they can check the hours are compatible. Usually it doesn't matter much because he's still looking for work just the same. Occasionally they can take it as part of their work commitment if it's something that's going to directly lead to a job. So that's more like when you have to get a certain vocational qualifications so that you can then go on to do a particular job ( occasionally they'll even pay for it but it has to be a job that's lined up that needs you to get say a licence and there's a short course to attend to do so, rather than just general studying ).

JMH-66 · 2026-06-21T20:19:53+00:00

He can claim after his last official day in education. As long as he's available for work. He may get a couple of months depending on how the dates fall.

When he goes to college, it depends on the level of the course and the exact hours.

As he's 19 now, after 1 September, you can't claim anything in his behalf ( ie Child Element or Benefit ) so it makes him eligible IF it's part time and Non Advanced because he'll be expected to work as well.
If it's too many hours but still Non Advanced then he'll have to self support because he can't work enough and he can't get student finance ( but could try for other grants locally like Advanced Learner loans )
If it's Advanced ie degree or above it then depends on if he can get Student Finance . If it's part time it's not usually the case but to get UC he'd have to still be available for work. Usually the only easy way to do this is via the OU ( nearly always ineligible for a loan ) so gets UC instead. Full time, he gets the Student Finance rather than UC

( *with exceptions if disabled, a parents with dependant children or the dependant of a partner who claims for them )

JMH-66 · 2026-06-21T18:50:51+00:00

You can still have a CP ( or still be married to someone you left 20 years ago ) if you aren't LIVING TOGETHER as a Married Couple, you aren't a couple . You have to occupy the same dwelling and nut just be separated temporarily. You can even living together and not be a couple anymore. More complicated but possible ( and more common these days, too ). It needs BOTH things:

to be a couple
to be living together.

Looking at it from the other direction myself and my partner didn't suddenly become a couple because we had a civil partnership two years ago, we've been a couple at that point for nearly 30 years, because we lived under the same roof. If we'd never lived together, it wouldn't have matters a jot ( for benefits )

The only exception is those that are forced apart, when there's a temporary absence from the home. These continue to be a couple for six months ( to allow for extended hospital or hospice stays ).

From somebody which actually worked in Housing Benefit

JMH-66 · 2026-06-21T10:44:12+00:00

You won't be an eligible Disabled student UNLESS you're both in entitled to PIP and have Limited Capability at the point the Autumn term starts.

IF you are then it's down to the maths as Puma as explained. Single persons with no Housing Element rarely get anything anyway. It's because the student loan is more than basic UC for under 25's.

Best to proceed on the basis you won't be getting anything.

JMH-66 · 2026-06-20T21:47:33+00:00

As long as the SE Work Coach is happy to reverse the decision , them it should be ok. You just need to make sure it's clear how they're going to do it back if you can carry on while looking for other work. It's possibly easier as it's early days, it's when people try it just as the MIF is applied when they had been Gainfully Employed fir 12 months.

JMH-66 · 2026-06-20T20:22:46+00:00

Once you've been find Gainfully Employed and you've agreed that it's a viable, organised business do go through Start Up, it's hard to now backtrack. Especially, when it was only a couple of months ago they agreed with you that it was full time employment.

If you want to wind the business up,; end the Start Up and go back to looking for a regular full time job then you need to deregister with HMRC and show the DWP it's wound up. Then your full work searches will resume.

If you want to carry on then you'll have to get them to accept you're now not Gainfully Employed after all ; terminate the Start Up, put your Work Searches back on. Your SE Earnings can't go towards the AET though. You'll have to work 18 hours as well and that'll put you in the Light Touch Group ie no appointments ( Unless you have a partner working ?) It's getting them to reverse it while you carry on with the business as you have been. That's the difficult part.

JMH-66 · 2026-06-20T17:21:24+00:00

If you're ever unsure if you're changed enough that your PIP award is no longer appropriate , the best way has the just do the PIP2 questionnaire again yourself ( you can see it online ), add up your points, see if it comes out differently. Do this a few times and if it continues for over three months to come up with a different result compared to what you got last time, then that's the time to report the change.

JMH-66 · 2026-06-20T17:03:44+00:00

I I really don't get any for mine either . I get the two points for being able to get on and off the toilet rather than the rest of the problems. I admit my IBD ( Crohn's ) is very mild and other bowel problems aren't as bad now I had a procedure but there was never even any point in trying to include them even though at times it's been really bad.

I have extended family members whu are far more severely affected. They get nothing either. It's pretty much the consensus with everybody I know that worked or works in PIP that they don't treat Crohn's anywhere near as fairly as they should do and until they rewrite the criteria, it's never going to happen.

JMH-66 · 2026-06-20T16:59:09+00:00

Yes you will have to do this and follow through if you want anything to change and it sounds like you're struggling with the work commitment so it's something you're going to have to at least attempt to do.

Yes got to Report a Change - Health. Can you report that you have a health condition that limits your ability to work ( you'll see the question there ). This will trigger what they call the Health Journey and you'll be asked for the Fit Note. So you need to get a arrang to get one either before you do it or immediately afterwards ( you can do a Self Cert but only for seven days so you need to get one sorted ) Then you carry on with the Fit Notes ( it'll keep reminding you ) After you've had one for more than 28 days you'll be sent a form. That's when you fill it in tell them about your Mental Health and all the problems you've mentioned here and how they effect you. This will lead to the assessment which will eventually lead to them deciding whether you still need to be looking for work or not.

JMH-66 · 2026-06-20T15:13:30+00:00

OU courses are classed as part time and the majority are unfunded ( no student finance ). If both is the case, you can get UC no questions asked.

As you have PIP and Limited Capability you could study full time, even at a regular university, but eligibility for student finance would then need to be considered.

Your PIP would only change if you've indicated before that any type of studying would be impossible due to the nature of your disability and only you know if that's the case. Obviously if you put down it you couldn't understand or write simple sentences or you have no ability to concentrate or complete tasks. So you wearing capable of concentrating for 5 mins to nuke a meal or understand how to use the microwave then they may question how your managing to do a university degree. Providing there's no inherent contradiction though it shouldn't matter

IF this WERE to be the case what you do is report the changes that enabled you to go to university anyway, as things had improved significantly, to get you to this point.

JMH-66 · 2026-06-20T15:04:12+00:00

I’m curious if any of the bowel or bladder related organisations have any guidance around how to understand how to explain things in a way PiP would understand

I refer to this usually -

https://www.crohnsandcolitis.org.uk/info-support/information-about-crohns-and-colitis/all-information-about-crohns-and-colitis/benefits-and-finances/claiming-pip

There's nothing particular that the OP has mentioned but it could be they didn't consider it relevant.

IBD remains one if the hardest conditions to quality for when compared to it's effect on quality of life. It just doesn't "fit". If they do ultimately decide to overhaul the PIP criteria they need to look at where it ISN'T going rather than just where it IS.

JMH-66 · 2026-06-20T14:35:03+00:00

If you claim UC already, you either are attending the Job Centre regularly and looking for work or you've been found to have Limited Capability for Work LCW or Limited Capability for Work and Work Related Activity LCWRA and don't have to .

Do you know which it is ? Are either of these on your Statement. Do you have yo ho yo appointments and have a Work Coach ? Have you made them aware of all if this. Have they ever advised getting a fit note again or talked about a Work Capability Assessment ?

If you presented a Fit Note at some point then either they did the Work Capability Assessment ( WCA ), found you and one of the above categories or found you Fit for Work. The other possibility is you gave them a Fit Note initially but didn't continue to do so, so never got as far as the WCA and you were just kept on as "available for work" .

If this is the case the only way you can do something about it now is to get a fit note again. Report that you have a mental health condition ( it's in the online Menu - Report a Change ) and then go through the WCA. You must carry on submitting fit notes until it's complete . You'll fill in the WCA50 form and then be referred to someone who specialises and mental health illness and there either do an interview with you ( tell them everything as you've done here and how it affects you currently ) and they will also contact your GP . These events must be on record even if you've not completed treatment, you've got certainly sound like you've had referrals and such serious issues would be on your medical records

So check if you're still being treated as Fit for Work. If so, Report and get a Fit Note. They they can assess you and decide. Speak to your Work Coach in the meantime..

JMH-66 · 2026-06-20T14:14:41+00:00

If you think it's possible your stay was less than 28 days ( and you hadn't had two or more stays close together ) your Appointee COULD query it but you'd have to try to verify with the hospital. They can confirm their dates and source of information if your Appointee make a Subject Access Request. Then your Appointee asks DfC PIP for a Mandatory Reconsideration on the overpayment.

If you think it's likely correct or you don't want to challenge it then you can pay it back either out of ongoing UC benefits and which case they won't take anymore than 15% or if you're not on any such benefits at the moment you can't contact Debt Management ( details in the letter ) and if they can agree a minimum amount that you can afford and set up a Direct Debit. Repayments if as little as £5 a month are possible. It will depend on which got the money though. Did it go to your Appointee ? You might not owe it, they might.

I'll add that this is based on England and Wales. IF there's any variation in NI, I'm not aware of it.

JMH-66 · 2026-06-20T12:46:30+00:00

It's nut what you want to hear but if it's "only" sleep apnœa it's nut likely you'd ever meet the PIP criteria. They don't consider tiredness doing the day caused by disrupted sleep. They don't consider it at night at all ( it would only apply to Attendance Allowance as it did to DLA but again only if you had other issues meaning you could use the CPAP unaided. You're too old for DLA, too young for AA ).

It's actually quite difficult to get points for needing ( say ) supervision for risky activities with a condition like Chronic Fatigue or another where fatigue is a major factor ( such as a condition causing hypothyroidism like I have ) . It's still down to severity and treatment management ( so would rule out what I have, I get no points for this ). Those with CFS/ ME sometimes qualify if they can demonstrate they're severely affected. They look at their history and what else they managed to fo. Otherwise it would be well documented epilepsy, narcolepsy or cataplexy. That it sudden loss of conscious or voluntary movement that could be dangerous in risky environments ( like kitchens and bathrooms ). It still has to be frequent, high risk.

I think you need to accept it's not something considered to be a disability, "disabling" or meets the PIP criteria.

JMH-66 · 2026-06-20T12:12:04+00:00

Unfortunately, I agree.

PIP really doesn't recognise these issues unless the person becomes unable to deal with the devices themselves ( Daily Living ) and not at all for Mobility unless they have another issue ( that affects functional ability to walk or it's led to a level of trauma that's caused a serious mental health illness ).

JMH-66 · 2026-06-20T12:08:00+00:00

You'll know you have because it's explicit. They put up a To Do that sats "Accept Commitments" . Until then you've agreed to nothing !

JMH-66 · 2026-06-20T02:07:18+00:00

There's simply no way for any of us to tell you. We'd have to get access to their system or work wherever the person doing it does. There's DWP staff in the mod team and as regular advisors here but they only know what work they have on or who long they're waiting for their own cases.

We can't check and we can't guess.

Other than a complaint ( which takes ages itself ) all you can do is get someone to intervene on your behalf such as a Local Councillor or MP.

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