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AAC	Administrative Appeals Chamber
Art(s)	Article(s)
EWCA Civ	England and Wales Court of Appeal (Civil Division)
NICA	Northern Ireland Court of Appeal
para(s)	paragraph(s)
reg(s)	regulation(s)
s(s)	section(s)
Sch(s)	Schedule(s)
UKUT	United Kingdom Upper Tribunal
Vol	volume

Acts of Parliament

JSA 1995	Jobseekers Act 1995
LGFA 1992	Local Government Finance Act 1992
SS(S)A 2018	Social Security (Scotland) Act 2018
SSCBA 1992	Social Security Contributions and Benefits Act 1992
WRA 2007	Welfare Reform Act 2007
WRA 2012	Welfare Reform Act 2012

Regulations

Each set of regulations has a statutory instrument (SI) number and a date. You can find them all at legislation.gov.uk.

CB Regs	The Child Benefit (General) Regulations 2006 No.223
CSP Regs	The Carer’s Assistance (Carer Support Payment) (Scotland) Regulations 2023 No.302
CT(D)(S)CAO	The Council Tax (Discounts) (Scotland) Consolidation and Amendment Order 2003 No.176
CTR(S) Regs	The Council Tax Reduction (Scotland) Regulations 2021 No.249
DAWAP(S) Regs	The Disability Assistance for Working Age People (Scotland) Regulations 2022 No.54
ESA Regs	The Employment and Support Allowance Regulations 2008 No.794
ESA(TP) Regs	The Employment and Support Allowance (Transitional Provisions) Regulations 2008 No.795
HB Regs	The Housing Benefit Regulations 2006 No.213
JSA Regs 2013	The Jobseeker’s Allowance Regulations 2013 No.378
LMI Regs	The Loans for Mortgage Interest Regulations 2017 No.725
NHS(TERC)(S) Regs	The National Health Service (Travelling Expenses and Remission of Charges) (Scotland) (No.2) Regulations 2003 No.460
SCP Regs	The Scottish Child Payment Regulations 2020 No.351
UC Regs	The Universal Credit Regulations 2013 No.376

Other information

ADM	Advice for Decision Making
DMG	Decision Makers’ Guide
GM	Housing Benefit/Council Tax Benefit Guidance Manual

References like CIS/142/1990 and R(JSA) 2/02 are references to commissioners’ decisions.

References like AD v SSWP [2009] UKUT 46 (AAC) are references to decisions of the Upper Tribunal.

5. Claiming housing benefit

If you can still make a claim for housing benefit (HB) (see here), you can get a claim form from your local authority HB office. You may also be able to claim online.

Your HB starts from when you make your claim. It can be backdated for up to one month if you are working age and you had continuous ‘good cause’ for not claiming sooner.1 If you have reached pension age (see here) and are not on income-related employment and support allowance, HB can be backdated for up to three months whatever the reason for the delay.

HB is usually paid directly into your rent account if you are a council tenant. Otherwise it is paid either to you or directly to your landlord.

You should be paid within 14 days of the local authority receiving your completed claim form or as soon as possible after that. If this is delayed and you are a private or housing association tenant, ask for a ‘payment on account’ until your claim can be properly assessed. Local authorities are legally obliged to give you an interim payment of a reasonable amount, unless it is obvious that you will not be entitled to HB or you have not supplied information that has been requested.

References

1
Reg 83(12) HB Regs; R(S) 2/63(T)

6. Challenging a decision

If you think a decision about your housing benefit is wrong (eg, because the decision maker got the facts or law wrong), there are a number of ways you can try to get the decision changed.

You can ask for the decision to be looked at again (known as a ‘revision’ or a ‘supersession’). In some cases, you must show specific grounds. In others, you must apply within a strict time limit, usually one month.
You can appeal to the independent First-tier Tribunal. There are strict time limits for appealing - usually one month from the date you are sent the decision. You can make a late appeal in limited circumstances.

If you are considering challenging a decision, get advice as soon as possible.

7. Other benefits

Child benefit is disregarded as income for housing benefit (HB).

Bear in mind that you should tell the local authority about any changes in income when they occur, including benefit changes. Do not assume that the DWP, HMRC or Social Security Scotland passes on the information for you.

The benefit cap

Your HB is reduced if your total income from benefits is over the maximum amount that you or your partner can receive. The amount is £423.46 a week if you are a lone parent or member of a couple and £283.71 if you are a single person.

Most benefits count towards the cap, including jobseeker’s allowance, employment and support allowance (ESA), child benefit and HB. The cap also applies to universal credit (see here).

You are exempt from the cap if you or your partner are disabled, a carer or a war widow(er). You are exempt from the cap because of disability if you or your partner get certain disability benefits, including disability living allowance, personal independence payment (PIP)/adult disability payment (ADP) and ESA with a support component. You are also exempt if a child or young person for whom you are responsible gets child disability payment or PIP/ADP. You are exempt if you or your partner get carer support payment.

There is protection for nine months before the cap applies if you are no longer working but were working for at least 50 out of the 52 weeks before the last day of work, and in that 50 weeks the person in work was not getting income-related ESA.

If you are affected by the cap, you should apply for a discretionary housing payment (DHP) from your local authority. The Scottish government has agreed to always make up HB reductions due to the benefit cap by way of a DHP.

Passported benefits

Provided you meet any other conditions, getting HB entitles you to:

a Best Start grant;
Best Start foods;
funeral support payment.

Chapter 7: New-style jobseeker’s allowance

Basic facts

New-style jobseeker’s allowance provides financial support for people who are expected to ‘sign on’ for work.
Full-time students are not normally eligible.
Part-time students are eligible if they are available for work.
You need to have paid national insurance contributions to qualify.
The amount is not affected by any loan, grant or other income you may have.

1. What is new-style jobseeker’s allowance

New-style jobseeker’s allowance (JSA) provides financial support for people of working age who are not working full time and who are expected to ‘sign on’ as available for work. It can be paid for up to six months.

Full-time students are normally excluded from JSA, but there are exceptions. Part-time students are eligible if they are available for work.

You must have paid sufficient national insurance contributions.

2. Who is eligible

To qualify for new-style jobseeker’s allowance (JSA), you must not be excluded as a student, and you must satisfy the basic rules. See below for details of students who are eligible. The basic rules are covered on here.

You cannot usually get new-style JSA if you are in relevant education. There is an exception if you took time out of your course because of illness or caring responsibilities, you have now recovered or the caring responsibilities have ended, you are not eligible for a student loan or grant, and you are waiting to rejoin your course.1

You are in relevant education if you are:2

a qualifying young person (see here); or
on a full-time course of advanced education; or
on another full-time course for which a loan or grant is provided for your maintenance (or would be available if you applied for it); or
on a course which is not compatible with your work-related requirements.

If you are studying but do not come within any of the relevant education definitions above, you can get JSA (as long as you meet the basic rules, below).

References

1
Reg 45(6) JSA Regs 2013
2
Reg 45 JSA Regs 2013

3. Basic rules

As well as being a student who is eligible for jobseeker’s allowance (JSA), you must satisfy all of the basic rules.1

You must accept a claimant commitment. This sets out, for instance, the hours you have agreed to work, the type of work you are looking for and any restrictions on travel and pay. You must be available for work, searching for work (usually for at least 35 hours a week), and willing and able to take up work immediately (although some people are allowed notice).2
People with caring responsibilities and disabled people can restrict themselves to fewer than 35 hours.3
If you are doing any work, it is for less than 16 hours a week.
You are capable of work (although you can continue to get JSA for up to 13 weeks while sick).
You are under pension age (currently, age 66).
You are in Great Britain, although JSA can be paid in other countries in limited circumstances. See CPAG’s Welfare Benefits Handbook for details.
You have paid sufficient national insurance contributions. You must have paid class 1 contributions on earnings of at least the lower earnings limit in 26 weeks, which need not be consecutive, in one of the two complete tax years (6 April to 5 April) before the start of the benefit year (which runs from the first Sunday in January) in which you claim. You also must have paid or been credited with class 1 contributions on earnings of 50 times the lower earnings limit in these years. For example, you qualify if you claim JSA in 2025 and you paid contributions on earnings of £6,150 in each of the tax years April 2022 to April 2023 and April 2023 to April 2024, earning in each year £123 a week or more, for at least 26 weeks.

References

1
s1 JSA 1995
2
Reg 9 JSA Regs 2013
3
Reg 9 JSA Regs 2013