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The new allowance for disabled young people has good intentions but is over-complex, writes Gary Vaux.

This April, many disabled young people will find themselves coming off a benefit called severe disablement allowance (SDA). They will be switched to incapacity benefit for young people (known as IBY). The government sees this as being generous, because IBY is higher than SDA. However, one consequence of this "generosity" is that many young people who received income support to top-up their SDA will find that they no longer qualify for this top-up from April.

SDA was abolished for new claimants in April 2001. Existing claimants kept their entitlement but those who were under 20 on 5 April 2001 will transfer this April to the long-term rate of incapacity benefit, without having to have a national insurance contribution record. New claimants aged 16-20 (and up to age 25 in some circumstances) will also have the same access to IBY. On the face of it, this looks like good news for younger disabled people, with the apparent "gain" being as much as £19.80 per week.

But, as usual, the devil is in the detail. First, new claimants will find that IBY is paid at different rates at different times within the first year of claiming - and some of the time, they may be due income support as a top-up (especially if they also get disability living allowance). Unlike people claiming SDA, which was always below income support level, claimants will need to know when to claim income support if they are not to lose out.

Second, claimants will need to be aware of the loss of "passport" benefits such as free prescriptions, free school meals if aged 16-19 and still in education, and access to the social fund. Where the young person's parents are on housing benefit, there is also a substantial loss if the young person is a non-dependant. Not being on income support can mean the young person being expected to make a rent "contribution" of £7.40 per week, and a council tax contribution of £2.30.

Therefore, the potential gain of £19.80 per week could be reduced substantially, or even wiped out altogether.

Social care staff will be working with many of the young people who are affected by this change. This will include many clients with learning difficulties, making transitions into different forms of education and accommodation at the same time. You will need to be aware of at least the basics of this switch from SDA and IS to IBY, because your clients will certainly be asking you for advice.

You will also need to know that income support "top-ups" may still be possible, particularly when IBY payments fluctuate in the first year of claiming. If your client gets disability living allowance, this may also mean they could still get income support on top of IBY (the allowance acts as a potential trigger to the enhanced and severe disability premiums). If income support cannot be claimed, then you will need to know the criteria for getting free prescriptions and so on - and what process is involved (a six-monthly application using the claim form in leaflet HC1).

It is difficult to write about this subject without appearing curmudgeonly - after all, the government is doing for young people what it has been asked to do for pensioners (increase the basic benefit and lift people out of means-testing). Nevertheless, the new rules increase the complexity of the system rather than simplify it, and yet again it will be left to social services staff and other advisers to try to guide people through the benefit maze.

Gary Vaux is head of money advice, Hertfordshire Council. He is unable to answer queries in person, either by post or by telephone. If you have a question to be answered in Welfare Rights, please write to him c/o Community Care.