{"id":113,"date":"2025-11-20T23:23:00","date_gmt":"2025-11-20T23:23:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/myinformernews.com\/uk\/?p=113"},"modified":"2025-11-20T14:31:13","modified_gmt":"2025-11-20T14:31:13","slug":"what-benefits-can-i-claim-with-crohns-disease-uk","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/myinformernews.com\/uk\/what-benefits-can-i-claim-with-crohns-disease-uk\/","title":{"rendered":"Crohn’s Disease UK: Claiming Disability Benefits and Financial Support"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Crohn’s Disease is a long term, inflammatory condition of the digestive system that can cause significant and often unpredictable symptoms, including severe abdominal pain, fatigue, weight loss, and frequent, urgent bowel movements. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Living with Crohn’s can bring substantial extra costs, such as higher utility bills, prescription charges, and travel expenses, while simultaneously making it difficult or impossible to work. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

If the condition affects your daily life and mobility, you may be eligible for a number of disability benefits and financial assistance schemes <\/a>in the UK.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You must remember that disability benefits like Personal Independence Payment, or PIP, are not awarded based on the specific diagnosis of Crohn’s Disease itself. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Instead, the focus is entirely on how your condition affects your ability to carry out certain daily activities and to get around. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Therefore, providing detailed, consistent evidence of the impact your worst days have on your life is the most important part of any claim. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

What is the most important disability benefit to claim for Crohn’s Disease?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The most important disability benefit for people of working age with Crohn’s Disease is Personal Independence Payment, or PIP. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This benefit helps cover the extra costs you may face due to a long term health condition. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

PIP is a non-means tested benefit, meaning it is not affected by your income or savings and can be paid whether you are working or not. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is also a key to gaining other support, such as the Disabled Persons Railcard and the Motability Scheme, by acting as a passport benefit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How does the PIP assessment process work for Crohn’s Disease?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The PIP assessment is based on a points system using two components: the Daily Living component and the Mobility component. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Department for Work and Pensions, or DWP, will send you a form called ‘How your disability affects you’ after you start your claim. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In this form, you must describe in detail how Crohn’s affects you in specific activities like preparing food, washing, dressing, and managing toilet needs. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

You should explain how your symptoms, such as urgency, pain, and fatigue, prevent you from carrying out these tasks reliably, meaning safely, to an acceptable standard, repeatedly, and in a timely manner, on more than half the days in a twelve month period.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What evidence should I include when applying for PIP due to Crohn’s?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

To support your PIP claim, you should gather and include all relevant supporting evidence. Medical evidence is valuable, but it must describe the effects of your condition, not just the diagnosis. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Useful evidence includes:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n
  1. Medical reports, letters from your gastroenterologist or IBD team, and prescriptions lists.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  2. A symptom diary detailing your worst days, including frequency of toilet use, pain levels, and fatigue.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  3. Letters from carers or family members who know how the condition affects you day to day.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  4. Details of any aids or appliances you use, such as a bidet or shower seat.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    You must keep a copy of your completed form and all supporting documents for your own records.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    How do I apply for Personal Independence Payment?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

    You must be aged 16 or over and under State Pension age to make a new claim for PIP. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    The claim process is started by contacting the DWP by telephone <\/a>to register your details.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      \n
    1. Call the PIP new claims phone line to start the claim and provide basic personal information.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    2. The DWP will then send you the detailed ‘How your disability affects you’ (PIP2) form.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    3. You must complete and return the form, with your supporting evidence, within the given deadline, which is usually one month.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    4. You may be invited to attend an assessment with a health professional, which could be face to face, by telephone, or by video call.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

      It is advisable to get help from an official advice service, such as Citizens Advice or a Crohn’s charity, to fill out the form accurately.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      What are the main rules for claiming Universal Credit with Crohn’s Disease?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

      Universal Credit, or UC, is a means tested benefit that can provide financial support if you are on a low income or out of work. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

      If Crohn’s Disease affects your ability to work, you must report this immediately when you apply for UC. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

      The DWP will usually then refer you for a Work Capability Assessment, or WCA, after you have provided medical evidence. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

      If the WCA finds that you have a Limited Capability for Work and Work Related Activity, or LCWRA, you will be entitled to an extra monthly payment on top of your standard UC allowance and you will not be required to look for work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      What other non means tested benefits can I claim if I am State Pension age?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

      If you have reached State Pension age, you cannot usually make a new claim for PIP. Instead, you should apply for Attendance Allowance. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

      This benefit is non means tested and is for people who need help with personal care or supervision because of an illness or disability. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

      You must have needed this help for at least six months to qualify. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Attendance Allowance is paid at two different rates, depending on the level of care and supervision you require.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      What other financial support is available for people with Crohn’s?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

      Beyond the main DWP benefits, other financial help may be available. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

      If you receive the enhanced rate of the mobility component of PIP, you may be eligible to apply for a vehicle through the Motability Scheme. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

      In addition, receiving PIP can lead to automatic eligibility for other discounts, such as a Blue Badge for parking concessions, a Disabled Persons Railcard, and exemptions from the Council Tax Reduction if you live alone. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Many people with Crohn’s Disease also qualify for a Prescription Prepayment Certificate, or PPC, to reduce the cost of ongoing medication.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

      Crohn’s Disease is a long term, inflammatory condition of the digestive system that can cause significant and often unpredictable symptoms, including severe abdominal pain, fatigue, weight loss, and frequent, urgent bowel movements.  Living with Crohn’s can bring substantial extra costs, such as higher utility bills, prescription charges, and travel expenses, while simultaneously making it difficult […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"iawp_total_views":55,"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-113","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-benefits"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/myinformernews.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/113","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/myinformernews.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/myinformernews.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/myinformernews.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/myinformernews.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=113"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/myinformernews.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/113\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":114,"href":"https:\/\/myinformernews.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/113\/revisions\/114"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/myinformernews.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=113"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/myinformernews.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=113"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/myinformernews.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=113"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}