MMUC ESA Support Group: Complex Needs, Risk of Self-Harm

Firstly, thank you for all you do.

I support a friend who has severe mental health issues and agoraphobia. He cannot speak on the phone with strangers. He has no computer.

I've advocated for him for several years: I can speak with his GP, housing provider, etc as he has given authority for me to act. I help him with budgeting, take him in my car to run errands, go to appointments, complete forms with and/or for him, e.g. PIP, for which he received Enhanced DL, 10 points Mobility.

He's received a reminder for MMUC - but the first letter never arrived. The deadline date is 15 July 2025.

Today I asked CAB Help to Claim if they can assist with a request for extension: unfortunately not.

I called the DWP MMUC Helpline on 0800 169 0328 and spoke to two separate agents.

I explained that the original notice was lost in the post, he has severe mental health issues: complex needs plus risk of self-harm, and so he needs additional time for support in assembling all the documents.

I was told 'no extension, he's got a month, it only takes 5 minutes to set up'.
The second agent said it was too early to request an extension, advising 'wait until a week before the deadline, then ask... but there's no guarantee you'll get one'.

What really concerns me is that both said I could not be his representative, in the way I outline above.

How on earth do I get from this appalling situation, to that outlined in the DWP in-house guidance (link in your Guide) where a friend or family member can assist an applicant, and a 'Notice of Complex Needs, risk of self-harm - please speak to third party named ivyfox' is pinned to his file?

I'd be so grateful if you could please advise me.
I'm going to start working through the list of documents and preparing him to do a little each week.

Thank you very much for the link.

I followed it until I found 'How to be a representative' and details of 'explicit consent'.
This is just what I need.

The legal status of deputy or appointee relate to cases where the claimant has, for example, a learning disability, severe mental impairment etc.

Having been unsuccessful at requesting an extension, I've been collating as many documents & gathering as much information from my friend as possible.

This post is intended to inform other people who may be trying to support someone with severe MH issues.

I was able to create a UC online account, ticking a box 'Are you doing this for someone else' (or words to that effect).

I then worked through all the 'To-Do' sections, based on the information he provided, and submitted the claim form.

That was straightforward.

The next stage was to verify ID online. I clicked on this on my home PC, so as to take a screenshot of the list of acceptable documents. This was because when I made my own claim, there were only 4 choices: passport, driving licence, credit history questions, and one other which escapes me. P60 was not included, FYI.

I entered no information, simply read the instructions. At this point, I logged out.

The following day (today, Saturday) a message appeared in his journal stating a DWP phone appointment for ID verification etc has been made for Friday morning. He absolutely cannot cope with phone calls to strangers, let alone DWP staff: I have no doubt it will trigger him and am very concerned.

Immediately I wrote a reply, citing the 2010 Equality Act, risk of self-harm & subsequent ongoing distress, and asking for the Reasonable Adjustment that the online ID verification facility is restored: I can visit him with my smartphone (he has no computer) and he can answer the questions.

I'll update as and when I manage to sort this out, either by the DWP agreeing the adjustment or my calling Help to Claim and having a 3-way call with the DWP.

Thank you, I do hope so.

Update after the weekend:
I received a two-part response from DWP UC on Monday in the journal, namely:
(a) Case Manager says it is apparently not possible to reinstate online ID verification, so
(b) local Job Centre says the 'reasonable adjustment' is that, having provided them with my mobile number, I can act as 'interpreter' for the phone appointment i.e. relaying the questions to him and speaking the replies to the UC interviewer.

It's not great, but it's a compromise. I do have concerns about how he'll be afterwards, so let's hope they keep it short.

As his representative, I created the UC account so can answer the security questions, and I'll ask him to have his passport to hand - that should really count towards ID verification.

Lesson learned: once the representative has completed the 'To Do' sections and submitted the claim, stop.
After this is ID verification: do this WITH the claimant, on some kind of portable computer or smartphone if necessary.

To be continued ...