Help with Housing benefits?

Ive been on Incapacity Benefit for 6 years. I have paid my own rent and Council tax during that time (拢21,000approx).
3 years ago i applied for help with rent & council tax and was turned down because i had savings of 拢16300. Since then I have cleared visa debts and paid about 拢5000 to my mum that I owed her. On top of that about 70% of my savings were in shares, the price of which has now collapsed (UK Bank shares !!!! )
So I applied again to council. They have come back to me asking me for proof of what has happened to the 拢16000+ savings I had in 2005. How do i prove that i owed my mum money? The Visa cards have been closed and i had moved the balance alot to avoid interest, so cant remember all of the different companies, card numbers etc.
Also they say if my finances go up by 拢200 i must inform them, but if the shares i go up by say 50p it will = 拢200. Have I got to tell them eachtime my shares go up and down by 50p or less?
I dont want 2 drag my mums finances in to this
Help

In answer to "moss" I had 拢16000 in total, mostly in shares, they cost me about 拢12,000 but were SAYE from my employer.
I didnt actually owe my mum the money, i owed it to my dad, when he died i paid it to my mum, my dad had told me to hang on to the shares to see if they would go up anymore and pay him off when I got back to work, as i had just lost my job, hence the reason i went onto to incapacity benefits. I dont really like the insuation "moss" but i do understand it, my street is full of junkies who are too ill to work but well enough to get wasted and fight with eachother every weekend. The difference is they arent paying for the privelage of living in ths street, nor will they be paying for the drugs and booze they consume.........
I feel im being punished for being stupid enough to save when i was working.

Housing benefit departments are notoriously difficult to deal with and you have to be persistent. I suspect that the proof they're asking for about the apparent 'disposal' of your savings is a technicality they have to impose on everyone but when you have explained the situation a bit more to them you should get it sorted.
I'm not too clear about how the 拢5,000 or the shares are relevant here because if you were disqualified by savings of 拢16300 that is only 拢300 above the limit so that should be the amount you have to account for.
Also a glaringly obvious thing that strikes me is that if the level of your income would have entitled you to housing and council tax benefit had it not been for your savings, it is logical to expect that you would then have to dip into your savings to pay your rent and council tax, or am I missing something?
I have recently had protracted negotiations over some illogicalities with my local department. One thing that helped a lot was that I saw one of my local councillors and she put me in touch straight away with a senior person in the department who knew their stuff. They still made a second mistake though which I had to take up with them. The CAB may be able to help you, but in some areas they are very over-subscribed and you have to wait quite a long time to see someone.
I don't know if you were correctly informed about having to declare if your savings go up by 拢200 if they're significantly below the 拢16000 limit. This is something you would have to find out about.
Good luck!

they want to know where the 拢16,000 has gone to ensure you didnt get rid of it 'on purpose' so to speak. It isnt unheard of that people spend their money in order to claim benefits. Gather all the information you can. Past statements. You will have had invoices when you cleared your credit card. As k your mother to write a letter stating how much you owed her and also advising that you paid her off. I am not sure about the shares to be honest but then again, it will only be classed as capital if you cash your shares in, so it shouldnt matter how much they are worth. speak to CAB (citizens Advice Bureau) or even go into your local benefits office for advice. The 拢5000 you paid your mother brings your savings down below 拢16000 so you should be eligible to claim, what hep youll get, I dont know.

if you have 16000+ why would you owe 5000 to your mum
the council have good accountants and they are probably
thinking why..

if you dont declare things they have brilliant fraud detectives that can just about get into anything even bank accounts ect ,if you havnt declared everything you can be prosecuted for benefit fraud and made to pay every penny back,be very careful.they might even except a letter of your mum with proof that she accepted the money bank statements .just be honest good luck