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Welfare benefits and tax credits
As a disabled person you may be in receipt of certain welfare benefits. This section explains how different benefits are affected by starting a course of study.
For general enquiries about benefits or to apply for any welfare benefits, you should contact Jobcentre Plus or your local benefits office, or a Citizens Advice Bureau. You can also check the information about benefits for students in Scotland available from the Child Poverty Action Group website at: http://scottishhandbooks.cpag.org.uk/
Remember!
With all benefits you should check out how studying will affect your benefits before you start the course. You must inform your local Jobcentre Plus or your local benefits office of any major change in your circumstances as soon as it occurs.
How is Incapacity Benefit affected by studying?
Students who are under 19 and on courses of 20 hours of mainstream education per week or less are eligible for Incapacity Benefit. Any hours of tuition or classes only for disabled learners are not included in this 21-hour limit. Students under 19 taking courses of more than 21 hours per week will not be eligible.
If you are 19 or over there is no rule that says you are not able to receive Incapacity Benefit while you are studying full or part time. However, once the Jobcentre Plus or local benefits office has been told you are studying or are planning to study, they may decide that you are no longer `incapable of work'. Obviously, this is not automatically the case. Many people are able to do courses of education but are not able to work. This may be due to the flexible study and support arrangements that can be made in colleges or universities. Also, some people go into education as part of a rehabilitation process to prepare them to return to work.
Therefore, although education may trigger a review of your claim, it cannot in itself be used to decide that you are capable of work. Incapacity Benefit can only be withdrawn if you do not pass a test of incapacity (the personal capability assessment). This assesses the extent to which your ill-health or disability affects your ability to perform a range of activities. You will be automatically exempt from this test if you are blind or get Disability Living Allowance, and in some other circumstances.
For more information, see Skill's information booklet 'Studying and claiming benefits as incapable of work'.
How is Severe Disablement Allowance ( SDA) affected by studying?
The effect of study on SDA is the same as that of Incapacity Benefit (see above).
How is Disability Living Allowance ( DLA) affected by studying?
DLA is based on your day-to-day care and mobility costs. As you will continue to have these costs when you study, your DLA should continue. As long as your care and mobility needs stay the same, there is no reason why the benefit should change.
Two exceptions to this are as follows: if you are attending a residential college where care is provided as part of the service, then the care component of your DLA can be stopped. The care component may also be stopped if you are following a catering course, where this shows that you are capable of preparing a meal.
How is Jobseekers Allowance ( JSA) affected by studying?
If you are studying part-time you may be able to claim Jobseekers Allowance if the Jobcentre Plus is satisfied that you are genuinely available for work despite your studies. If your hours of studying overlap with the times you must be available for work, your studies will be ignored if you meet the following conditions:
- you can rearrange the hours of your course immediately on taking up employment or are prepared to give up your course if offered employment, and
- you are ready to take time off the course to attend an interview, and
- you are ready to start work immediately.
These conditions do not apply if:
- for 3 months before starting your course you were on work based training for young people; getting JSA, incapacity benefit or statutory sick pay; or getting Income Support on the grounds of incapacity for work,
- in the 6 months before you started your course you met one of the previous conditions for a total of 3 months, and were in full-time employment or earning too much to get any of these benefits for the rest of the time.
If you are studying full time you cannot usually receive JSA. However, there are four exceptions to this:
- if you have a partner who is also a full-time student and you have a dependant child, you can get JSA during the long vacation as long as you are available for work,
- if you are 25 or over and you have been claiming JSA for at least 2 years, you may be able to take a New Deal course and still receive JSA. Your Employment Officer at the Jobcentre Plus decides if your course of study would qualify,
- if you are on a full-time employment-related course which has been approved by a Jobcentre Plus Employment officer, you will be able to claim JSA for 2 weeks,
- if you are waiting to return to your course after a break agreed with the Jobcentre Plus because you were ill or you had to care for someone, you can claim JSA after the reason for your break has ended. You can then receive JSA until either the start of the next academic year or the date you start back on your course - whichever of these dates applies first.
As this benefit is means-tested, the amount you are eligible to receive will be affected by student support entitlement.
How is Income Support affected by studying?
Part-time students
If you qualify for Income Support under the usual eligibility criteria, you can continue to receive this whilst you are studying part time. For the purposes of Income Support, you are usually classed as studying 'part time' if your college or university defines your course as part-time.
Full-time students
If you are studying full time, you can only claim Income Support if you meet any of the following criteria (as well as the basic rules):
- you are a disabled student, and either qualify for the Disability Premium or Severe Disability Premium, or have been assessed as being incapable of work for 28 weeks
- you are a lone parent
- you are a refugee on a course learning English
- you qualify for the Disabled Students' Allowance because you are deaf
- you are in a couple, your partner is also a full-time student and you have a child
- you are under 20 and have to live away from your parents because you are estranged from them, or because they cannot support you financially and they are disabled, in prison or are not allowed to enter Britain
- you are a student from abroad whose funds have been disrupted.
If you cannot claim Income Support under the criteria above during term-time, you also cannot claim it during long vacations or during any re-sits of modules. You can start claiming Income Support again from the moment your course ends, or if you leave the course for any reason.
As this benefit is means-tested, the amount you are eligible to receive will be affected by student support entitlement.
How is Housing Benefit affected by studying?
Part-time students continue to be eligible for Housing Benefit. You can claim Housing Benefit as a full-time student if you meet any of the following criteria:
- you get Income Support or income-based Jobseekers Allowance as a full-time student - see above
- you are a disabled student, and either you qualify for the Disability Premium or Severe Disability Premium, or have been assessed as being incapable of work for 28 weeks
- you get the Disabled Students' Allowance because you are deaf
- you are a lone parent, or are single and caring for a child who has been in local authority care
- you, or your partner, are aged 60 or over
- you are in a couple (including same sex couples) and your partner is not a student - your partner can claim Housing Benefit for both of you, on the same conditions as for students - see below
- you are in a couple (including same sex couples), your partner is also a student and you have a dependent child - you will then be eligible for Housing Benefit throughout your course, including holiday periods
- you can get Housing Benefit temporarily while waiting to return to your course after an agreed break because you were ill or had to care for someone
- you are under 19 and a full-time student but not in higher education (ie HNC or above), or you are aged 19 on a further education course which you started before you reached 19.
During the summer holidays, you will not get Housing Benefit if you are away from your term-time home for a full benefit week, unless you are in hospital or your term-time home is also your permanent home.
As this benefit is means-tested, the amount you are eligible to receive will be affected by student support entitlement.
How is Council Tax Benefit affected by studying?
Students are usually not liable for council tax. If you are liable to pay council tax, your eligibility for Council Tax Benefit is worked out in the same way as for Housing Benefit.
As this benefit is means-tested, the amount you are eligible to receive will be affected by student support entitlement.
How is the Social Fund affected by studying?
The Social Fund may apply to some students, but only if you are on specific benefits, such as Income Support. You should contact a Citizens Advice Bureau for more information.
For more information about how tax affects students, check out www.hmrc.gov.uk/students or call the Tax Credit Information Line on 0800 500 222.
How are Health Benefits affected by studying?
If you are under 19 and in full-time education you will not have to pay NHS charges. Similarly, those who are eligible for Income Support or Income-based Jobseeker's Allowance will not have to pay these charges.
How is Carers Allowance affected by studying?
Full-time students (21 hours or more of guided study per week) cannot claim Carers Allowance during term time or the vacation periods. Part-time students can claim Carers Allowance if they meet the general eligibility criteria.
How are Tax Credits affected by studying?
All students with a child are entitled to claim Child Tax Credit. Both part-time and full-time students are also eligible to claim Working Tax Credit.
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