“I lost my benefits at 16 for saying I could cook”

Access All: Disability News and Mental Health

BBC research has revealed that nearly a third of child claimants of Disability Living Allowance (DLA) have been rejected for adult benefits when they turn 16. BBC Data Unit reporter Joanna Morris has been investigating to find out why this is happening, and shares that many rejections come because the forms are addressed to the teenagers who try to complete the paperwork themselves. That includes Holly Crouch. Holly, who has epilepsy, tells Access All she was turned down for Personal Independence Payment at 16 because she had written on her form that she could cook - even though the risk of seizures meant she could never use the cooker without supervision. Also on the programme - Jonny Heaver, fresh from being fired as a contestant on The Apprentice, gives an exit interview and talks about living with a facial difference. PRESENTER: Emma Tracey PRODUCERS: Daniel Gordon, Alex Collins EDITORS: Beth Rose, Ben Mundy SOUND RECORDING AND MIX: Dave O’Neill