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2. Who is eligible

Under age 19

If you are in full-time education, you are entitled to vouchers for glasses.

If you are in part-time education, you are not automatically exempt from NHS charges, but you may get help because you get a qualifying benefit, are in an exempt group or qualify under the low income scheme (see here).

Under age 26

If you are under 26, you are entitled to free NHS dental treatment. It does not matter if you are studying full time or part time or not studying at all.

Age 26 or over

You are not automatically exempt from NHS charges because you are a student, but you may get help because you get a qualifying benefit, are in an exempt group or qualify under the low income scheme.

Qualifying benefits

You get free NHS dental treatment, vouchers for glasses and certain fares to hospital if you get:

  • universal credit (UC) and you:1
    • have no earnings; or
    • earn £435 or less a month (or, if you have a partner, your combined earnings are £435 or less a month); or
    • have a child element in your UC, or you or your partner (or both of you) have limited capability for work (LCW) or limited capability for work-related activity (LCWRA) and earn £935 or less a month (or, if you have a partner, your combined earnings are £935 or less a month); or
  • guarantee credit of pension credit.

Reference
References
  • 1

    NHS(TERC)(S) Regs, as amended (most recently in 2021 by SI No.241)

Exempt groups

Dental treatment

You are eligible for free NHS dental treatment if:

  • you are pregnant or have given birth in the last year; or
  • you are under the Public Dental Service (for people who have difficulty getting treatment for reasons such as a disability); or
  • you are an asylum seeker getting asylum support; or
  • you get a war pension and need treatment for your war disablement; or
  • you are a care leaver getting support from the local authority under section 29 of the Children (Scotland) Act 1995.

Vouchers for glasses or contact lenses

You are eligible for vouchers for glasses if:

  • you are aged under 16; or
  • you have a prescription for complex lenses; or
  • you are a Hospital Eye Service patient; or
  • you are an asylum seeker getting asylum support; or
  • you get a war pension and need treatment for your war disablement; or
  • you are a care leaver getting support from the local authority under section 29 of the Children (Scotland) Act 1995.

Fares to hospital

You are eligible for help with fares to hospital if:

  • it is 30 miles or more away or involves a journey of five miles or more by sea, and you live in the Highlands or Islands – ie:
    • the Highland region, Western Isles, Orkney Islands, Shetland Islands;
    • Arran, Great Cumbrae, Little Cumbrae;
    • the area formerly covered by Argyll and Bute District Council;
    • parts of Moray (Aberlour, Cabrach, Dallas, Dyke, Edinkillie, Forres, Inveravon, Kinloss, Kirkmichael, Knockando, Mortlach, Rafford, Rothes); or
  • you are an asylum seeker getting asylum support; or
  • you get a war pension and need treatment for your war disablement; or
  • you are a care leaver getting support from the local authority under section 29 of the Children (Scotland) Act 1995.

Low income scheme

If you are on a low income, you may be eligible for help under the low income scheme, even if you do not qualify on other grounds.

Under the low income scheme, your income is worked out in a similar way to housing benefit, and it is compared with your needs in the form of premiums and allowances, similar to housing benefit but with certain housing costs added.

Step 1: capital

You do not qualify if your capital is over £16,000. If your capital is between £6,000.01 and £16,000, add £1 to your income for every £250, or part of £250, between these limits.

Step 2: work out your requirements

This is an amount for basic weekly needs. See Chapter 6 for details of how to qualify for each premium. Your requirements are made up of:

  • personal allowances
CircumstancesRate
Single person aged under 25£75.65
Single person aged under 25, has claimed ESA and been assessed as having LCW or LCWRA£95.55
Single person aged 25 or over£95.55
Lone parent aged 18 or over£95.55
Couple, both aged 18 or over£150.15
Couple, both pension age or over (both reached pension age on or after 1 April 2021)£363.25
Couple, one or both pension age or over (and reached pension age before 1 April 2021)£383.35
  • premiums
    • carer (as for housing benefit (HB));
    • disability (this is included after 28 weeks of incapacity for work). You also get a disability premium if you (or your partner) are under 60 and get new-style ESA with a work-related activity or support component, or have been getting new-style ESA for at least 28 weeks, or have had LCW for at least 28 weeks. The amount of the disability premium increases to £50.35 if you are single or a lone parent and get new-style ESA with the support component, get the Scottish adult disability living allowance middle or highest rate care component or get the standard or enhanced rate of the daily living component of adult disability payment, and have been incapable of work for at least 28 weeks;
    • enhanced disability for an adult (as for HB and also if you (or your partner) are under 60 and get ESA with a support component);
    • severe disability (as for HB);
  • weekly rent less any HB and non-dependant deductions;
  • weekly council tax, if you are liable, less any council tax reduction;
  • mortgage interest, endowment payments and capital repayments on your home, as well as on loans to adapt a home for a disabled person, deducting any non-dependant deductions.

Step 3: work out your weekly income

Income is calculated in a very similar way as it is for HB, with some modifications. See CPAG’s Welfare Benefits Handbook for more details. Your income is taken into account, as well as the income of your partner. Information about how your income is calculated and how student income is treated is in Chapter 14.

Step 4: deduct weekly income from requirements

If your income is less than your requirements or no more than £4.95 (half the cost of an English prescription) higher, you are entitled to maximum help with health benefits. If your income is more than £4.95 higher than your needs, you may get partial help.

You are expected to contribute your ‘excess income’ (the amount by which your income exceeds your needs) towards hospital fares, and you can get help with the rest of the costs up to the maximum amount allowed. You are expected to contribute twice your excess income towards help with glasses or contact lenses and three times your excess income towards help with dental charges.1

Examples

Madhu is a second-year undergraduate aged 20. She has a student loan of £9,400 (including £2,400 special support loan) and a young students’ bursary of £2,000. She is single, has no children and pays £75 rent a week. She gets no UC or HB. Under the low income scheme, her requirements are £150.65 (£75.65 personal allowance, plus £75 rent). Her income from her student loan is £121.29 (see here). Her income is below her requirements so she is entitled to free NHS dental treatment and vouchers for glasses.

Lewis is 26 and is a second-year undergraduate. He needs dental treatment costing £140. His weekly income for health benefits is £140.52 student loan, plus £50 earnings, making a total of £190.52 (see here). His requirements are £95.55 personal allowance plus £80 weekly rent, a total of £175.55. His excess income is £14.97. He must contribute £44.91 (three times his excess income) to his dental treatment. The other £95.09 is paid for him under the low income scheme.

Reference
References
  • 1

    Reg 5 NHS(TERC)(S) Regs, as amended (most recently in 2021 by SI No.241); regs 14 and 19 The National Health Service (Optical Charges and Payments) (Scotland) Regulations 1998 No.642, as amended (most recently in 2024 by SI No.38)

1. What is child benefit

Child benefit is paid to people who are responsible for a child or qualifying young person. You do not have to have paid national insurance contributions to qualify for child benefit. It is not means tested, so the amount you get is not affected by your student loan, grant or other income. If you (or your partner) earn over £60,000 per year and you (or your partner) get child benefit, you may have extra income tax to pay (known as the ‘high-income child benefit charge’).

2. Who is eligible

You qualify for child benefit if:1

  • you are responsible for a child or qualifying young person – ie:
    • they live with you; or
    • you contribute to the cost of supporting them at a rate of at least the amount of child benefit for them; and
  • you have priority over other potential claimants. Only one person can get child benefit for a particular child. There is an order of priority for who receives it if two or more people would otherwise be entitled; and
  • you are ‘present and ordinarily resident’ in Britain, not a ‘person subject to immigration control’ and have a ‘right to reside’. These terms are explained in CPAG’s Welfare Benefits Handbook.

You do not have to be the child’s parent to claim child benefit for them.

Being a student, whether full or part time, does not affect your entitlement to child benefit.

If you are a qualifying young person (see below), your parent or someone else who is responsible for you may be able to claim child benefit. You cannot, however, claim child benefit for yourself.

If a qualifying young person gets universal credit in their own right, any child benefit paid for the young person stops.

If a young person lives with a partner or is married or in a civil partnership, you can get child benefit for them if they live with you or you still contribute to their support, but only if their partner is in relevant education or approved training. The young person’s partner cannot be the claimant.

In some circumstances special rules apply – eg, if your child is being looked after by a local authority or is in prison or a young offenders institution .

Reference
References
  • 1

    ss141-47 SSCBA 1992

Who counts as a child

Anyone aged under 16 counts as a ‘child’ for child benefit purposes, whether or not they go to school. Provided you meet the other qualifying conditions, child benefit can be paid for them.1 Child benefit can also be paid for a child after they reach 16 until at least 31 August after their 16th birthday, and then for as long as they continue to count as a qualifying young person.

Reference
References
  • 1

    s142(1) SSCBA 1992; reg 4 CB Regs

Who counts as a qualifying young person

A ‘qualifying young person’ is someone who:1

  • is aged 16 and has left full-time, non-advanced education (see below) or training. This only applies up to 31 August after their 16th birthday (but see below); or
  • is aged 16 or 17, has left education or training and satisfies the extension period rule (see here); or
  • is aged 16 or over but under 20 and is on a course of full-time, non-advanced education not provided as a result of their employment or approved training not provided under a contract of employment. ‘Approved training’ is anything under the Scottish government’s ‘No One Left Behind’ provision.2 The young person must have started the course or training before reaching 19 or have been accepted or enrolled to undertake it before that age; or
  • is aged 16 or over but under 20 and has finished a course of full-time, non-advanced education not provided as a result of their employment or approved training not provided under a contract of employment; however, they have been accepted or enrolled on another such course. Note: if the course they have finished is an approved training course, this only applies if the following course is also approved training. Although someone must have started, or been accepted or enrolled on, the training or education when they were under 19 to be a qualifying young person once the course begins, the rules do not specify this for the gap between courses.3 If the young person was accepted or enrolled after reaching age 19, you can argue that they are a qualifying young person from the end of the course until the next course begins; or
  • is aged 16 or over but under 20 and has left full-time, non-advanced education or approved training but has not passed their terminal date (see here).

Full-time, non-advanced education

’Full time’ is more than 12 hours a week of classes and supervised study during term time (if you do less because of illness or disability, you can qualify).

’Non-advanced education’ is anything below degree, Higher National Certificate or Higher National Diploma level and includes school-level courses (Nationals, Highers, Advanced Highers), Scottish Vocational Qualification levels 1–3, National Certificates, National Progression Awards and Scottish Wider Access Programme courses.

If your child counts as a qualifying young person on more than one of the above grounds, they count as a qualifying young person until the last day that applies.4

If you stop being entitled to child benefit for your child because they no longer count as a qualifying young person, but they later satisfy one of the above conditions again and so count as a qualifying young person once more, child benefit can again become payable for them. Note: in some cases, you can continue to claim during such an interruption - eg, if the young person is ill or the gap is less than six months. In both cases, the interruption must be accepted as being reasonable.5

Note: in the rest of this chapter, the term ‘child’ is used to mean both children under 16 and qualifying young people aged 16 or over.

Reference
References
  • 1

    s142(2) SSCBA 1992; regs 2-8 CB Regs

  • 2

    Reg 1(3) CB Regs

  • 3

    Reg 3 CB Regs

  • 4

    Reg 2(2) CB Regs

  • 5

    Reg 6 CB Regs

The extension period

If your child is 16 or 17, they continue to count as a qualifying young person, and so child benefit can continue to be paid for them during an ‘extension period’ if:1

  • they have left education or training; and
  • they are registered as available for work, education or training with Skills Development Scotland; and
  • they are not in remunerative work – ie, work of 24 hours a week or more for payment or in expectation of payment; and
  • you were entitled to child benefit for them immediately before the extension period started; and
  • you apply in writing or by phone within three months of the date your child’s education or training finished.

In this context, ‘education’ and ‘training’ are not defined and so may mean any kind of education or training.

The extension period starts from the Monday after your child’s course of education or training ends and lasts for 20 weeks from that date. If your child reaches 18 during the extension period, unless they count as a qualifying young person on another ground (see here), your child benefit for them ends from the first child benefit payday on or after which they reach 18.2

Reference
References
  • 1

    Reg 5 CB Regs

  • 2

    Reg 14 The Child Benefit and Guardian’s Allowance (Administration) Regulations 2003 No.492; reg 5(3) CB Regs

The terminal date

If your child leaves full-time, non-advanced education (see here) or approved training before reaching 20, they continue to count as a qualifying young person until:1

  • the terminal date; or
  • their 20th birthday, if this falls before the terminal date.

The general rule means that unless they continue to count as a qualifying young person on another ground or are returning to sit an exam (see below), you stop receiving child benefit for them on that date.

The terminal date

Your child’s ’terminal date’ is the first of the following dates that falls after the date their full-time, non-advanced education or approved training finishes:

– the last day in February;

– the last day in May;

– the last day in August;

– the last day in November.

If someone is doing a Higher Certificate or Advanced Higher Certificate and leaves full-time, non-advanced education earlier than they would have done if they were doing a comparable course in England and Wales, the terminal date is the one that would have applied had they had been doing the comparable course.2

A child who returns to sit an external examination in connection with their course of relevant education is treated as still being in relevant education until the date of the last exam.3

Reference
References
  • 1

    Reg 7 CB Regs

  • 2

    Reg 7(2) case 1.3 CB Regs

  • 3

    Reg 7(2) case 2.1 CB Regs

4. Claiming child benefit

Child benefit is administered by HMRC. You can claim online at gov.uk/child-benefit/how-to-claim, or you can claim on Form CH2, which you can get from the Child Benefit Office on 0300 200 3100 or gov.uk/government/publications/child-benefit-claim-form-ch2. The form can be completed online but must be printed, signed and sent by post.

You should make a claim within three months of becoming eligible. This is because your claim can usually only be backdated for up to three months. You do not have to show any reasons why your claim was late.

Getting paid

Child benefit is usually paid directly into your bank (or similar) account. Which account it goes into is up to you. If you do not want your benefit to go into an account that is overdrawn, give HMRC details of an alternative account if you have access to, or can open, one.

5. Challenging a decision

If you think a decision about your child benefit is wrong, you can ask HMRC to look at it again. This process is known as a ‘mandatory reconsideration’. Provided you ask within the time limit (usually one month), HMRC notifies you of the decision in a ‘mandatory reconsideration notice’. If you are still not happy when you get this notice, you can appeal to the independent First-tier Tribunal. If it was not possible to ask HMRC to reconsider the decision within a month, you can ask for a late revision (within 13 months), explaining why it is late. You can also ask HMRC to look at a decision again at any time if certain grounds are met – eg, if there has been an official error.

Basic facts

  • New-style employment and support allowance (ESA) is for people who are assessed as having limited capability for work because of their health or disability.
  • It is a non-means-tested contributory benefit.
  • Payment is limited to 365 days in some cases.
  • Part-time and full-time students can get new-style ESA if they have paid sufficient national insurance contributions.