Universal credit and 'relevant benefits'

Universal credit (UC) is higher if you get it alongside certain other benefits, often called relevant benefits.

If you get UC alongside carer’s allowance, for example, then you generally have a ‘carer element’ added to your UC. If you get UC and your child qualifies for disability living allowance (DLA), you’re usually entitled to a UC ‘disabled child element’.

Unfortunately, these extra UC amounts are not paid automatically when the relevant benefit is awarded, and the onus is placed on claimants to notify the DWP that they are entitled to these additional elements. Evidence collected by CPAG suggests that families are missing out on much-needed financial support as a result of this failure to share information within the DWP.

This briefing focuses specifically on the impact for parents of disabled children.