Welfare Benefits
In this guide:
Welfare benefits available for under 16s
The Government provides financial assistance for the benefit of people under 16.
The only welfare benefit available in the name of a person under 16 is Disability Living Allowance.
Disability Living Allowance
Disability Living Allowance is available for someone who because of their disability needs:
- Personal care; or
- Supervision; or
- Help with mobility.
Normally, the Department for Work and Pensions will expect someone over the age of 16 (normally the mother or the social services department) to take legal responsibility for the claim.
Other benefits
A mother or a person acting in the place of a mother may be able to claim the following benefits for their child:
- Child Benefit
- Child Tax Credits
- Maternity allowances
- Surestart payments
Mothers under the age of 16
Child Benefit and child tax credits will normally be paid to the household the mother is part of – usually to her own mother. If she is no longer living at home, it will be paid to the household she has become a part of.
Welfare Benefits for 16- to 18-year-olds
Exception
Care leavers may be excluded from receiving some welfare benefits up to the ages of 18 or 25 because they are supposed to be supported by social services.
Looking for work
16- to 18-year-olds do not have an automatic right to Jobseekers Allowance.
What can a young person do to try and claim Jobseekers Allowance?
- They need to complete a form available from Connexions.
- They need to state on the form that they have been looking for a job AND prove that they are suffering from severe hardship.
How can a young person prove severe hardship?
The young person must show that:
- they have no family or anyone acting in the place of their family; or
- their relationship with their family is so bad that they can not go to them for help (this is known as estrangement).
Jobcentre staff have been given a lot of leeway by the Government in their decision making process as to what constitutes severe hardship. This makes it very difficult to challenge a decision made about severe hardship but it is possible.
Post-16 education
Full-time students
Generally, welfare benefits are not available for full-time students.
Exceptions
16- to 19-year-olds
Income Support is available to 16- to 19-year-olds who:
- are either estranged or married; and
- are studying for A-levels or the equivalent.
Lone parents
Income Support is available to lone parents, aged 16 or over who are studying full-time. Any student grant or loan they may be entitled to will be taken into account in full when calculating the level of benefit to which they are entitled for a degree course or equivalent.
Disabled people
Income Support is available to disabled people aged 16 or over who are studying full-time. Any student grant or loan they may be entitled to will be taken into account in full when calculating the level of benefit to which they are entitled for a degree course or equivalent.
Part-time students
Welfare benefits are available to part-time students.
Sick or disabled
People aged 16 or over who are too ill to work may be able to claim for:
- Incapacity Benefit
- Income Support on the ground of incapacity
- Disability Living Allowance
Incapacity Benefit
Entitlement to incapacity benefit depends on:
- The individual having paid National Insurance contributions for some years before the claim; or
- An individual aged between 16 and 25 being certified by a doctor as not being able to work for the next six months because of their health.
Incapacity Benefit: the reality
Most young people will not be entitled to Incapacity Benefit because either:
- they will not have paid enough National Insurance contributions.
- they will not have been certified by a doctor being unable to work for six months.
Reasons for applying for Incapacity Benefit
A pre-condition to applying for Income Support on the ground of incapacity is that the young person has already applied for incapacity benefit.
Income Support
A young person who does not qualify for Incapacity Benefit but does have a doctor’s certificate saying that they are unable to work at the moment will be able to claim Income Support.
Disability Living Allowance
16- to 18- year-olds already receiving Disability Living Allowance
Anyone aged between 16 and 18 who has already been receiving Disability Living Allowance needs to make a decision as to whether the benefit will be claimed in the mother’s name or in the young person’s name. A decision that the benefit will continue to be received by mother or carer will need to be approved by the Department for Work and Pensions.
New claims by 16-to 18-year-olds
Unless a young person has difficulty managing things such as letters for example, any new claim made by a 16- to 18-year-old would normally be in that person’s name. If not, the Department for Work and Pensions will decide if the young person’s carer should be responsible for the claim.
Carers
Anyone who is 16 or over and looking after an individual who receives Attendance Allowance or the highest or middle for care for Disability Living Allowance, may be entitled to receive Carer’s Allowance.
If the young person is considering claiming Carer’s Allowance then they should discuss this with the person they are looking after so it may adversely affect the benefit entitlement of the person being cared for.
A welfare benefits check is advisable at the Citizens Advice Bureau.
Welfare benefits for 18-year-olds and over
Generally, over 18s are entitled to the same benefits as the rest of the working population.
Full time education exception applies up to the young person’s 19th birthday.
It may be possible to go onto Incapacity Benefit for long term incapacity up to the age of 25.
For under 25s, Income Based Jobseekers Allowance is at £7 less than the standard rate available for individuals who are 25 or over.
For more information, contact Glenn Craig on 01206 578282
Useful organisations
Citizens Advice Bureau
Look in the yellow pages, visit the local library or visit www.adviceguide.org.uk for details of your nearest office