Students and benefits eBulletin - December 2022

Students and universal credit – award administration, Scottish child payment and young carer grant.

In this issue

Students and universal credit – award administration

This academic year CPAG has heard of a number of student cases where DWP is wrongly paying students universal credit (UC), or has wrongly calculated their student income. The details of the problems vary. In some cases the £110 of student income which should be disregarded each month was missed. In others the wrong student funding was taken into account. Some students continued to be awarded UC, even though they didn't appear to be eligible.

All UC overpayments are recoverable. The DWP Minister on 22 November 2022 confirmed that the DWP waived only 25 universal credit overpayments in the last 12 months, so the chances of getting an overpayment waived are not high. However, it is still worth asking, especially where the error was not the student’s fault.

We are keen to hear of any cases you have where students’ UC entitlement does not seem to be correct. You can submit cases (anonymous cases only please) to our Early Warning System - Tell us about your case - Early Warning System

Advisers can phone CPAG in Scotland's advice line for advice in any such cases: Advice line for advisers

Scottish child payment changes

From 14 November 2022, the Scottish child payment increased from £20 to £25 per week for each eligible child, and extended to children under 16 (previously it was for children under 6). It is for families receiving any of the following qualifying benefits:

  • universal credit
  • child tax credit
  • working tax credit
  • income support
  • income-based jobseeker’s allowance (JSA)
  • income-related employment and support allowance (ESA)
  • pension credit

Student parents on one of these benefits with a child under 16 should apply for Scottish child payment, if they have not already done so. Claims can be made online on the mygov.scot website or by phone 0800 182 2222.

Young carer grant

Student carers can apply for this grant for 16, 17 and 18-year-old carers who cannot get carer’s allowance. It is currently £326.65 per year (2022/23) , and is paid as a one-off lump sum.

You can get a young carer grant if:

  • you normally live in Scotland
  • you are aged 16, 17 or 18
  • you are not entitled to carer’s allowance on the day you claim
  • you are caring for someone, or for more than one person, who has a disability and gets certain disability benefits
  • you are providing care for at least 16 hours a week on average
  • no-one else has received a young carer grant in respect of the person you care for in the last year

You can apply by:

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