Council strip 1:1 from 18 YO QYP-can’t access education-penalised by UC ?

Good morning,

I’m really hoping someone with detailed Universal Credit / decision-maker or welfare rights experience might be able to help me, as I’m extremely worried about my position and struggling to find clear guidance.

I have an 18-year-old son (turning 19 in May 26) with an EHCP and significant disabilities who is on my claim as a “qualifying young person”. He requires 1:1 support to access education and receives enhanced rate PIP for both daily living and mobility. He was due to start a named college placement in September, but the local anthority abruptly withdrew the 1:1 support against professional advice.
Educational Psychologists and SaLT provided written evidence stating clearly that my son cannot access or cope with college without 1:1 support, and two Educational Psychologists wrote formally to the council raising safeguarding concerns about the proposal for him to attend full-time college without that support. Despite this, the LA finalised the EHCP in late August without reinstating the support. I am now in appeal to the SEND Tribunal regarding suitability of provision.

As a result of the LA’s decision, my son has been prevented from accessing any education since September. This was not a choice, not disengagement, and not refusal. I spent the autumn trying to secure interim or reduced provision (even part-time hours), but everything was refused. Attendance without 1:1 support was not possible or safe.

I understand that SEND law and DWP/UC law are technically separate, and people say there is “no automatic connection” between them. I accept that , but at the same time, I genuinely cannot understand how the reason a disabled young person is not in education can be completely irrelevant. If I had simply not enrolled him, or if he had refused to attend, that would obviously be different. But in this case he has been actively prevented from accessing education due to disability-related needs and a local authority failure, which is now being legally challenged.

Everything I can find about Universal Credit appears very black-and-white: “in education or not in education”, with NO apparent consideration whatsoever of why education could not take place. That feels deeply wrong where a disabled young person is excluded from education through no fault of their own, and due to a local authority acting illegally .

I am now extremely worried about:

• the risk of a very large backdated overpayment (potentially many thousand pounds)
• the possibility of losing over £1,000 per month going forward
• being financially penalised for a local authority’s unlawful decision, which is outside my control and currently before the SEND Tribunal

This isn’t just theoretical, this money is what supports my son day-to-day, and I’m genuinely frightened about how we would cope if it were suddenly removed or reclaimed.
From my perspective, this feels like an enforced interruption to education, not my son “leaving” education. At the time, I reasonably believed the situation was temporary and that provision would be put in place once the LA complied with its duties.

I’m specifically looking for guidance on:
• how UC decision makers are meant to deal with situations where education is inaccessible due to LA failure
• whether causation and reasoning are ever considered, or only enrolment status
• how delayed reporting is viewed where the situation was unresolved and actively being challenged
• whether there is any relevant DMG guidance or case law involving disabled young people unable to attend education due to illness or lack of support
• how long a young person in this situation can remain on a parent’s UC claim, and how to address the current position

I’m not looking for advice simply to “open a claim for him” please,I do understand that may be relevant later. But my concern right now is how this period is treated, whether a large overpayment can arise in these circumstances, and how I should properly address this with Universal Credit.

Any informed insight would be hugely appreciated, as I feel completely stuck and very anxious about the financial consequences of something that is entirely outside our control.

Thank you so much in advance