Universal Credit and Financial Support

The government plans to move existing benefit claimants onto Universal Credit by December 2025 through a staged process known as ‘Managed Migration’.

This will affect anyone currently in receipt of one or more of the following means-tested ‘legacy’ benefits: Working Tax Credit; Child Tax credit; Income Support; Income-Based Jobseekers Allowance (I-B JSA); Income-Related Employment and Support Allowance (I-R ESA); and Housing Benefit.

More information is available in the document below.

Universal Credit is replacing the following six ‘legacy’ benefits: Housing Benefit, Income Support, Income-related Employment & Support Allowance, Income-related Jobseeker’s Allowance, Working Tax Credits and Child Tax Credits. You don’t have to do anything now but if you are still in receipt of one these benefits then you can expect to be moved to Universal Credit at some point in the near future.

You can no longer make a new claim for these benefits (with some exceptions for Housing Benefit). You will need to claim Universal Credit instead.

Always check that you won’t be worse off if you make a claim for Universal Credit.

Claiming Universal Credit is usually done online here. If you need support, you can call the Universal Credit helpline on 0800 328 5644.

Useful links:

Understanding Universal Credit

Citizens Advice 

You may be able to get additional money if you have a health condition that affects your day to day living, or mobility. Personal Independence Payment (PIP) is not means-tested, and is paid in addition to your other benefits. You will need to complete a form, and are likely to have a face to face assessment.

Useful links:

Government website

Citizens Advice

You may still be able to make a new claim for Housing Benefit if you are state pension age, or are living in Supported, sheltered or temporary accommodation.

If you are a Southdown tenant or client of any of our services, please ask your Housing Officer and/ or Support Worker if you are unsure whether to claim Housing Benefit or Universal Credit.

Council Tax Support

If you are in receipt of benefits, or on a low income, you may be able to get help towards the cost of your Council Tax.

Healthy Start

If you are pregnant or have children under the age of four you can get free Healthy Start vouchers or payments every four weeks to spend on things like milk, fruit and vegetables.

Food Banks

You can find your local Food Bank here.

Household Support Fund

The Household Support Fund has been delivered through local authorities since October 2021 when it was set up to ‘provide a lifeline for those at risk of struggling to keep up with their bills over the winter’.
This is discretionary help and administration of the fund will vary depending on the local authority area in which you live. You can find out about eligibility and how to access the fund through your local authority website.

Knowing what you spend, and the money you have coming in is the first step to taking control of your finances. As well as listing your household bills, keep a spending diary for a month to keep track of all the little extras that you spend money on. You will then be able to create a more realistic budget.

Budgeting doesn’t have to be difficult or tedious. It is about finding a way that suits you. Some people like to use an app on their phone, some a spreadsheet, and some just use post-it notes on their fridge!

There are several online budgeting tools and mobile phone apps. Take a look at examples of these on the Citizens Advice website and Money Helper.

Check with your supplier that you are on their cheapest tariff. Due to the current uncertainty around fuel supply, it is probably best to wait before shopping around for a better deal. Always send in regular meter readings. Otherwise, your supplier will use estimated bills which could be higher than the amount that you actually owe. If you are in receipt of certain benefits, you may be entitled to a Warm Home Discount.

Southdown is unable to provide expert debt advice but your Support Worker will be able to signpost you to the most appropriate place. In addition, if you would like support to deal with your debts, please see below links to resources that can help:

Debt support:

Money Helper

StepChange offer a free helpline: 0800 980 8270

Citizens Advice

National Debt Line

The Household Support Fund has been delivered through local authorities since October 2021 when it was set up to ‘provide a lifeline for those at risk of struggling to keep up with their bills over the winter’.

This is discretionary help and administration of the fund will vary depending on the local authority area in which you live. You can find out about eligibility and how to access the fund through your Local Authority website.

Claimants can get this if they or their partner are Pension Credit age or over, and are receiving a means-tested benefit. Payments vary from £100 to £300 depending on circumstances. More information can be found on Gov.UK website. 

This is an automatic £25.00 a week payment when the temperature falls below 0 for 7 consecutive days. Claimant must:

• Be on Universal Credit, Income Support or Income Based JSA or Income Related ESA or Pension Credit (either type) AND
• Be either: Pension Credit Age or over, or someone in the household is disabled, or they are responsible for a child under five (disabled child can be any age).

Applicants could get £140 off their energy bill under the Warm Home Discount Scheme. In most cases, successful applicants will need to be in receipt of certain welfare benefits.

This scheme is offered through most energy companies, but check with supplier. Applications are usually taken from October and the discount is credited to the energy bill the following March.

People on a low income and vulnerable to the cold could be eligible for support through the council-endorsed LEAP scheme.

By meeting the broad eligibility criteria they can qualify for a free home visit, energy saving advice and measures such as LED light bulbs and draught proofing. Advisors can also help to access other support including grants for central heating.

If you are struggling to pay your energy bills (or to top up your pre-payment meter) you should contact your energy supplier as soon as possible. They have an obligation to help you pay for your energy and any debt at an amount that you can afford.

It is particularly important to speak to someone if anyone in your household is vulnerable, for example, if there are young children, elderly people or people with disabilities living with you. Most energy suppliers have extra services for vulnerable customers.

If you have debts with your utilities, most companies have access to their own grants or debt advisors to help pay off these debts.

The following energy suppliers offer grants to their customers:

• British Gas Energy Trust
• Scottish Power Hardship Fund
• Ovo Energy Fund
• E.ON Energy Fund
• E.ON Next Energy Fund
• EDF Energy Customer Support Fund
• Bulb Energy Fund
• Octopus ‘Octo Assist Fund’

If you can’t get a grant from your own supplier, check if you can get a grant from the British Gas Energy Trust. These grants are available to anyone – you don’t have to be a British Gas customer. However, to qualify for help through the Trust, we understand that you will need to have received debt / budgeting advice from an accredited agency prior to receiving a grant.

Check out the following useful sites:

• Energy Saving Trust
• Help for Households

Social tariffs are cheaper broadband and phone packages for people claiming Universal Credit, Pension Credit and other means-tested benefits. Some providers call them ‘essential’ or ‘basic’ broadband.

They’re delivered in the same way as normal packages, just at a lower price. Amid rising living costs, Ofcom is encouraging companies to offer social tariffs to help customers on low incomes.

According to the Ofcom site, a social tariff can help in the following ways:

• It’s available to those on a variety of benefits. If you or someone in your household claims Universal Credit, you could switch to any of the tariffs available.
• It’s cheaper than a regular package. Current prices range from £10 to £20.
• Fast, unlimited broadband. Most tariffs offer superfast broadband at speeds over 30 Mbit/s – fast enough for you to keep in touch with friends and family, stream HD films or shop online.
• You’ll pay next-to-nothing to get set up. If you do have to pay any setup costs, these should only be small. Your provider should tell you before you sign up.
• It could cost nothing to switch. If your provider offers a social tariff, you can switch to it at any time, free of charge.
• The price won’t go up mid-contract. You won’t pay any more than what you agree at the start of the contract.
• It costs nothing to leave. You won’t pay a fee to leave the tariff before the end of your contract.

More information and list of providers is available at:

• Ofcom
• Money Saving Expert