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Wonder whether someone could help with the issue from an appeal I have just been given. It concerns an 19 year old youth who is doing a plumbing course at a local technical college at about NVQ 1 level. He lives on his own, receives Housing Benefit and the issue is he applied for Income Support on the basis that he was estranged from his parents but was refused.
The situation is that his parents divorced 10 years ago, his father then went to live in Canada, he went with him and stayed with him for about 6 months, at the time he was nine years old, then-after the six months he retuned to live with his mother in the UK. He stayed with his mother until late 2008 when he visited his father again in Canada, returned in May 09 after an eight month stay there. Then went to live with mother again however their relationship broke down on 27/07/09 which resulted in him leaving his mothers household.
He has no right of stay in Canada beyond 6 months due to their immigration rules, although he did infcat overstay by 2 months. He states that the relationship with his father is not such he would accept him back again, his father has Canadian nationality and works plus settled in Canada so has no intention of leaving that country.
Job centre Plus has refused him Income Support on the basis of he 'was living away from his parents as a result of the course he was undertaking. And not as a result of estrangement . He remained in contact with his father and in fact he had stayed with him for 8 months suggesting he was not estranged or alienated from him'.
From a view point of his father I wonder whether it is reasonable for JC+ to argue estrangement or not for him, as his father lives in an entirely different country to which even if the estrangement did not apply it would be quite impractical for our client to take advantage sustained support from his father. Views on this situation would be much appreciated.
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