Bracknell becomes a full service area for Universal Credit in late May.

What is Universal Credit?  This is a single benefit replacing 6 means tested benefits for people of working age on a low income.  These are income based ESA, income related JSA, Income support, working & child tax credits and housing benefit – sometimes called “legacy benefits”. You still have to apply to your local council for Council Tax Reduction.  It does not affect contribution based benefits, nor PIP (or DLA) or Carer’s Allowance.

Who is eligible? If you are already receiving any of the “legacy benefits “ , you cannot claim UC UNLESS you wish to transfer, when you will stop receiving  your current benefits and you will not be able to go back to them.  If you have more than 2 children you are not eligible for UC. But you can apply for legacy benefits instead. If you are part of a couple, then you both have to apply and have a joint application.  You may be in low paid work.

How do you apply?  All applications are made online and managed online. If you have difficulty using the internet then your local council must help you.

What information do you need in order to be able to apply?

• National Insurance number
• your postcode
• your type of accommodation (for example private rental, council tenancy or housing association tenancy)
• how much rent or mortgage you pay each month
• your landlord’s address and phone number
• your bank, building society, credit union or Post Office card account details
• how much you earn from work (such as recent payslips, or accounts or receipts if you’re self-employed)
• any income that’s not from work (for example a pension or insurance plan)
• any savings or other capital you have (for example shares or property)
• how much you pay for childcare (if you want to claim childcare costs)
• child benefit reference numbers (you can find these on letters to you about child benefit – they start with ‘CHB’)
• details of any other benefits you’re getting

And lastly, an email address.

How is UC paid?  As with current benefits, this is paid in arrears.  Unlike current benefits, which are generally paid fortnightly, UC is paid monthly.  Unless you can show good reason, the housing costs part of the claim will always be paid to you, so you must make sure that you keep up with the full rent payments. It usually takes 5 weeks for the first payment to arrive in your account.  However, if you are already eligible for Housing Benefit, you will continues to receive this for the first 2 weeks of your claim.  If you need to have an advance of your UC, you can receive up to 100% in advance, which is then repaid over the following 12 months.

For a lot more information see: https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/benefits/universal-credit/ or https://www.gov.uk/universal-credit

For help applying or checking your UC application, you will need to go to the council offices.  For other queries regarding UC you can ask us.