Syrian father with traumatic brain injury repeatedly refused disability benefits

A man who needs full-time care after a bicycle collision left him with a traumatic brain injury has been repeatedly refused benefits by the Home Office.

Under the conditions of his visa, Adam, who is from Syria but has lived in the UK for a decade, isn’t allowed to access any public funds. In September 2022 he suffered brain damaged after he collided head-on with another cyclist in London.

The 27-year-old is now partially blind, has lost hearing in the right ear, cannot communicate properly and cannot leave the house unless in a wheelchair or mobility scooter.

Wife Layla, 32, has made a desperate plea to the government to allow her husband to access benefits as she struggles to support their large family alone.

The Home Office has twice refused to change the conditions of Adam’s visa and allow him to access universal credit or disability benefits.

Layla told The Independent she has now become a full-time carer for Adam, whose name has been changed to keep the family anonymous, on top of looking after six children aged between one and 13.

She said: “He can move around inside the home but he can’t go out unless it’s in a wheelchair or mobility scooter. He is not able to have a conversation, he doesn’t understand things. When he speaks he says all these muddled up random words.”

She said after the accident Adam spent three weeks on life support and a further eight months in hospital.

“He had to re-learn every single basic skill,” she said. “He forgot all of his English. He didn’t have any recollection of ever coming to England. He didn’t know who any of us were. We had to feed him baby food and get him back to trying to chew. It’s been life changing.”

Layla said she has been overwhelmed dealing with everything herself and the family only have enough food because of the generosity of neighbours and the local mosque.

Layla, who is a British citizen, said: “I get universal credit, PIP, and child benefit. We have to get taxis to the hospital appointments and that takes a huge chunk of my money, but I’ve got no other option. Food shopping for our family is expensive and I’m spending hundreds a week on basics. I do a lot of washing as well because I have to change Adam’s bed sheets almost every day, as he has a lot of accidents.”

Layla is trying to save up to convert a downstairs garage into a room for Adam, as he currently sleeps upstairs. She worries about him falling down the stairs as the accident has left Adam with epilepsy.

“He has had two serious seizures recently where he was blue-lighted to hospital,” she said. Adam is waiting to have a metal plate to replace part of his skull that is missing, but the operation was delayed by months as he got an abscess.

Layla described the stress of taking Adam to a Job Centre interview to assess his fitness to work: “They still made us sit and wait there for an hour and I ended up in tears. I just felt like we were just another name and number on a list.”

The Home Office first refused Adam access to public funds in December, saying he had not provided evidence to show he was unable to meet “essential living needs”. Layla said when she first applied she was overwhelmed by the accident and struggled to understand the process.

She submitted a comprehensive application for help in February with support from charity Ramfel, but it was rejected in April.

Millions of people in the UK have a “no recourse to public funds” (NRPF) condition attached to their visa, leaving them at risk of destitution if they can no longer work.

In 2023, 3,511 people applied to remove the condition from their visa, with around two-thirds being successful. In February 2023, a High Court judge ruled that Home Office caseworkers should give “careful consideration” to a person’s disability when applying NRPF.

Nick Beales, of Ramfel, said: “This tragic case shows everything wrong with the no recourse to public funds policy, which the government frequently imposes on exceptionally vulnerable people.

“Adam is brain damaged and clearly cannot work for the foreseeable future. The government has medical evidence confirming this, yet concluded that he can apparently survive without any state support.”

Labour MP for East Ham Stephen Timms MP said: “I am deeply troubled that the Home Office are refusing to lift the NRPF condition on Adam’s visa. Things have been very difficult for the family since his accident, and particularly Layla who is having to support a family of eight by herself. I hope the Home Office are now mindful of their puzzling handling to this case and now reconsider it as a matter of priority.”

A Home Office spokesperson said: “There are strong and important safeguards in place for individuals who find themselves in the most challenging circumstances, including in certain circumstances, the ability to apply for the no recourse to public funds condition to be lifted.”