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1. What is universal credit

Universal credit (UC) is a means-tested benefit for people of working age.1

UC replaces the following benefits and tax credits:

  • income support;
  • income-based jobseeker’s allowance;
  • income-related employment and support allowance (ESA);
  • housing benefit (HB);
  • child tax credit;
  • working tax credit.

Some people are still on income-related ESA and HB, but the other benefits and tax credits have ended. You cannot make a new claim for income-related ESA or HB and must claim UC instead (for an exception for HB, see here). Once you claim UC, you remain on UC (provided you are still eligible), even if your circumstances change. Everyone on income-related ESA and HB should have moved to UC by the end of 2025 (except those who get HB and live in specified or temporary accommodation).

If you are a full-time student, you are only eligible for UC in some circumstances – broadly, if you are a parent, if you have a disability, if you are a young student in non-advanced education and without parental support, or if you have a partner who is not a student.

The amount you get is based on your circumstances (eg, whether you have a partner or child, or you care for someone with a disability) and is usually affected by any grant, loan or other income you have.

Note that work coaches can refer some young people on UC to ‘relevant training schemes’, during which they can stay on UC without having to meet the usual student eligibility requirements.2

Reference
References
  • 1

    s1-4 WRA 2012

  • 2

    Reg 12(1A) and (1B)(b) UC Regs

2. Who is eligible

Students

To qualify for universal credit (UC), you must satisfy all the basic rules described on here. Most students cannot claim UC, although there are some exceptions (see here). For UC, a student is referred to as someone receiving education.

Receiving education

You are ’receiving education’ if you are:1

– a qualifying young person. This applies if you are in, enrolled on or accepted for non-advanced education of at least 12 hours a week, or approved training, and have not yet reached 31 August after your 19th birthday. If you are 19 you must have started, been enrolled on or accepted on the course before you turned 19. You are also a qualifying young person until 31 August following your 16th birthday, even if you have left education;

– undertaking a full-time course of advanced education (see below);2

– on another full-time course for which a loan, grant or bursary is provided for your maintenance;

– (if none of the above three bullets apply) on a course that is not compatible with your work-related requirements – ie, what you are expected to do in terms of looking for work.

A course of advanced education is one above the level of National Qualifications at Higher or Advanced Higher level, including Higher National Diploma (HND), degree and postgraduate courses. It is full time if it is classed as full time by the institution, unless this is not clear, or the person has exemptions from parts of the course.3

Non-advanced courses Advanced courses
National Qualifications (NQ) Nationals 1 to 5HNC
NQ Higher or Advanced Higher HND
Scottish Vocational Qualification (SVQ) levels 1 to 3 SVQ level 4 or 5
National Progression Awards Degree level
National Certificate Postgraduate
Scottish Wider Access Programme

Open University courses are not classed as full time, but they are courses of study, so regard must be had as to whether they are compatible with work-related requirements.4

You are ‘undertaking a course’ from the day you start the course until the last day of the course (or an earlier date when you abandon or are dismissed from the course).5

Reference

Modular courses

A modular course is one that has two or more modules, and you are required to successfully complete a specified number of modules to have completed the course. If you are undertaking a part of a modular course, you count as undertaking the course from the day on which that part of the course starts until the last day on which you are registered as undertaking that part (or an earlier date if you abandon or are dismissed from the course).

You are also undertaking a modular course during any period in which you undertake the course to retake failed exams or complete a module that you have failed to successfully complete, as well as any holidays, unless the holiday follows the last day of the final module.6

Reference
References
  • 1

    Reg 12 UC Regs

  • 2

    paras H6031 and H6047 ADM

  • 3

    BK v SSWP [2022] UKUT 73 (AAC)

  • 4

    para H6087 ADM

  • 5

    Reg 13(1) UC Regs

  • 6

    Reg 13(1)(b), (2) and (3) UC Regs

Who can claim universal credit

If you do not count as receiving education, you can claim UC in the same way as anyone else.

If you count as receiving education, you are only eligible for UC if you:1

  • are responsible for a child or young person - ie, they normally live with you. If you and your ex-partner share the care of a child, only one of you can count as responsible; or
  • are under 22 on a non-advanced course, you were under 21 when you started the course, and you are ’without parental support’ (see below); or
  • have limited capability for work and also get child disability payment (CDP), disability living allowance (DLA), personal independence payment (PIP) or adult disability payment (ADP). You must have had a determination that you have limited capability for work (LCW) or limited capability for work-related activity (LCWRA) before you started receiving education. This means a determination that you have LCW/LCWRA for UC or (new-style) contributory employment and support allowance (ESA), or that you are treated as having LCW/LCWRA for UC. You can claim (new-style) contributory ESA in order to be assessed for LCW/LCWRA (although you do not have to get any ESA to qualify in this way). Once you are found to have LCW/LCWRA for ESA (and you also get PIP/ADP or CDP/DLA), you are then eligible for UC as long as you had, or were treated as having, LCW/LCWRA before you started receiving education – ie, you cannot claim UC if you have already started your course by the time LCW/LCWRA is assessed. Note: you count as receiving education while you are a qualifying young person, so even if you have LCW/LCWRA through a (new-style) contributory ESA assessment, you would have to have a period in which you are no longer a qualifying young person in order to be eligible for UC; or
  • are a single foster parent (this includes kinship carers with whom a child is placed under the Looked After Children (Scotland) Regulations 2009); or
  • are a member of a student couple and one of you is a foster parent (this includes kinship carers with whom a child is placed under the Looked After Children (Scotland) Regulations 2009); or
  • are over pension age and your partner has not yet reached that age; or
  • are making a joint claim with your partner who is not a student, or who is a student but would be eligible for UC themself while studying; or
  • have taken time out because of illness or caring responsibilities, you have now recovered or your caring responsibilities have ended, and you are not eligible for a grant or loan.

If you are in one of the above groups and have a partner who is also a student, you can make a joint claim for UC with them, even if they are not in one of these groups.2

Note that if you are receiving education and you manage migrated to UC while on your course, you can get UC even if you do not fit into any of the bullet points above (to the end of that course, but not for any subsequent courses).3

Without parental support

’Without parental support’ means you:4

– are an orphan; or

– cannot live with your parents because you are estranged from them, or because there is a serious risk to your physical or mental health, or you would face significant harm if you lived with them; or

– are living away from your parents, and they cannot support you financially because they are ill or disabled, in prison or not allowed to enter Great Britain.

’Parent’ includes any person acting in place of a parent. The person must be broadly acting in the way a parent would.5

You are estranged if you are ‘alienated in feeling or affection’ from your parents. The young person’s statement about the estrangement should be believed unless it is ‘self-contradictory or improbable’, and third-party evidence is not required.6

Note: if you are aged 16 or 17 and receiving education, you can only claim UC if you are covered by one of the first three bullet points above – ie, you have a child, you are without parental support and in non-advanced education, or you are ill or disabled. If you are a 16/17-year-old care leaver and are receiving education, you can only claim if you have a child or are ill or disabled, and you cannot get help with housing costs.7

Examples

Annie is 18 and on UC. She starts a full-time course of non-advanced education. She is estranged from her parents. She is still eligible for UC.

Lewis is on a full-time, advanced course and has a three-year-old child. He is eligible for UC.

Pauline is 23 and is on UC. She starts a part-time, non-advanced course in January 2025. The DWP decides that her course is not compatible with her work-related requirements, so she counts as receiving education. She is single and not disabled. She is not eligible for UC while she is on her course.

Karen is on UC. She moves in with her partner, Jake, who is unemployed. Karen starts a full-time, advanced course. They are still eligible for UC.

Reference

Work-related requirements

Even if you are a student who can claim UC, you may have to meet certain work-related requirements in order to get UC. These are set out in a claimant commitment, drawn up by your work coach at the job centre. If it is not possible to do so while on your course, you may be given a sanction and your UC may be reduced. See CPAG’s Welfare Benefits Handbook for more information about work-related requirements and sanctions.

There are no work-related requirements if you are receiving education and you are:8

  • under 22 (and were under 21 when you started your course), in non-advanced education and have no parental support; or
  • eligible for UC as a student (unless you are eligible after having taken time out because of illness or caring responsibilities) and you get a student loan for maintenance, or a maintenance grant that is taken into account for UC. This only applies during the period of the year in which your student income is taken into account. Normally, this is over the academic year (see Chapter 12). Over the summer vacation you may be subject to work-related requirements.

If you are not exempt from work-related requirements under the rules above and not exempt for any other reason (eg, because you have a child under one or you are severely disabled), you must meet your work-related requirements, otherwise you can be sanctioned. This means that your UC is reduced by the level of your standard allowance (see here). You may be able to challenge a sanction. If you are given a sanction, get advice as soon as possible.

Examples

Sukhi is a full-time further education student. She gets a bursary maintenance allowance. She has a 12-year-old daughter. She claims UC. Because she gets a student grant for maintenance, no work-related requirements apply.

Sean, a lone parent with one child aged eight, is studying a full-time two-year HND course. He claims UC and has no work-related requirements applied because he gets a student loan. His long vacation starts on 6 June 2026. For the assessment period that includes 6 June and the next two assessment periods, which are wholly within his summer vacation, he is subject to work-related requirements. If Sean cannot meet these requirements, he may be sanctioned and his UC reduced.

Reference
References
  • 1

    Regs 3(2)(b), 13(4) and 14 UC Regs

  • 2

    Reg 3(2)(b) UC Regs

  • 3

    Reg 60 The Universal Credit (Transitional Provisions) Regulations 2014 No.1230

  • 4

    Reg 8(3) UC Regs

  • 5

    NP v SSWP [2009] UKUT 243 (AAC)

  • 6

    paras E1051 and E1052 ADM

  • 7

    Reg 8 and Sch 4 para 4 UC Regs

  • 8

    Reg 89 UC Regs

3. Basic rules

Universal credit (UC) is for people on a low income who are in or out of work. You can claim regardless of your circumstances, provided you meet the basic rules about age, education, residence, income and capital.1 So, for example, lone parents, people with a disability, carers and unemployed people can all claim UC. If you are a student, you can only get UC if you meet the basic rules and are in one of the groups of students who are eligible for UC.

As well as being a student who is eligible to claim UC, you must satisfy all the following conditions.

  • You are aged 18 or over. There are exceptions for some 16/17-year-olds – eg, if you are estranged from your parents, are a parent yourself, are sick or disabled or if you are caring for someone with a disability.
  • You are under pension age (currently 66). You are also eligible if you have a partner who is over pension age, provided you are under pension age.
  • You are in Great Britain, satisfy the ’habitual residence’ and the ’right to reside’ tests, and are not a ’person subject to immigration control’. These terms are explained in CPAG’s Welfare Benefits Handbook.
  • You have no more than £16,000 capital.
  • Your income is less than your maximum amount of UC (see here).
  • You have agreed a claimant commitment, setting out what you must do to receive your UC. If you have a partner, you must each agree a claimant commitment to get benefit. You do not have to agree a claimant commitment if you are terminally ill (see CPAG’s Welfare Benefits Handbook for more information).

Reference
References
  • 1

    s4 WRA 2012

4. Amount of benefit

The amount of universal credit (UC) you get depends on your circumstances and the circumstances of your partner. The amount also depends on your and your partner’s income and capital. Go through the following steps to work out the amount of UC to which you are entitled.

Step 1: capital

If your capital is over £16,000, you cannot get UC. Some kinds of capital are ignored. For details, see CPAG’s Welfare Benefits Handbook.

Step 2: work out your maximum amount

Your maximum amount is worked out by adding together the monthly amounts of the standard allowance and any other elements for which you are eligible.

Step 3: work out your monthly income

Chapter 12 explains how your loan, grant or other income is taken into account.

Step 4: deduct monthly income from maximum amount

If your income is less than your maximum amount, UC is the difference between the two. If your income is the same as or more than your maximum amount, you cannot get UC.

Your maximum amount

Work out your maximum amount by adding together your standard allowance and any additional elements that apply. For the amounts, see here. The rates are monthly and are from April 2025.

Standard allowance

You get one standard allowance for yourself and any partner that you live with. There are different rates depending on whether you and your partner are under 25, or 25 or over.

Child element

You get one child element for each eligible dependent child who ’normally lives’ with you.1 Each child must be under 16, or aged 16 to 19 and in full-time, non-advanced education or approved training.2 You can claim for a 16-year-old child until 31 August after their 16th birthday, whether they are in education or not. Otherwise you can claim for a child in full-time, non-advanced education or approved training up to 31 August following their 19th birthday. They must have been under 19 when they were accepted on, enrolled on or started their education or training. You cannot claim for a child who claims UC, jobseeker’s allowance or employment and support allowance (ESA) in their own right.

The higher child element is paid if one of your children was born before 6 April 2017.

You can usually only get a child element for a maximum of two children. However, you can get a child element for any child born before 6 April 2017. If you have a third child on or after 6 April 2017 and you get UC, you cannot get a child element for them unless an exception applies (see CPAG’s Welfare Benefits Handbook for what these are).

The Scottish government plans to make up any loss of income due to the two-child limit from March 2026, by introducing a top-up payment.3

You get a disabled child element for any child or young person who gets child disability payment, disability living allowance, adult disability payment or personal independence payment, whether you get a child element for them or not. If the child is severely disabled, you get a higher amount.

Reference

Elements for illness

You get an extra amount of UC if you meet the test for limited capability for work (the work capability assessment) and your claim (or your request to be assessed for limited capability for work) was made before 3 April 2017 or if you meet the test for limited capability for work-related activity.

The work capability assessment is the same as that used for ESA to assess how much your health or disability limits your ability to work or undertake work-related activity.

Carer element

You qualify for a carer element if you are entitled to carer support payment (CSP).

You can also qualify for a carer element if you meet the conditions for carer’s allowance (CA), or you would be entitled to CA except for the fact that your earnings are too high. You must be caring for someone for at least 35 hours a week who gets certain disability benefits.

This means that, unless you get CSP, you cannot get a carer element if you are in full-time education (as you would not meet the conditions for CA).

You cannot get an element for being a carer and for your own illness at the same time.

Housing costs element

You get an amount for rent included in your UC if you are liable for the rent on your home (see here). If you own your home, you may be able to get help with certain service charges, but not if you have any earnings in an assessment period.

UC does not include amounts to cover your mortgage interest payments, but you may be able to get a loan from the DWP to help with these. You must normally get UC for three months before you can apply for this help. You can get this help whether or not you are working.

The housing element of UC for rent is paid directly to you, for you to then pay your landlord, although you can request for it to be paid directly to your landlord instead. See CPAG’s Welfare Benefits Handbook for more information.

An amount is deducted from your housing costs element if you are in rented accommodation and have a non-dependant living with you. This is called a ‘housing costs contribution’, and it is a flat rate of £93.02 a month.

A non-dependant is someone, usually a friend or adult relative, who lives with you but not on a commercial basis. There is no deduction for a non-dependant who is under 21, and in certain other circumstances.

See CPAG’s Welfare Benefits Handbook for further details about the housing costs element and about loans for mortgage interest.

Help with your rent

You must be liable for rent. There are some circumstances in which you can be treated as liable for the rent, even when you are not legally liable – eg, if you have taken over paying the rent from someone else.

Your UC housing costs element may not include the full amount of rent that you pay.

If you rent from a private landlord (including a hall of residence), your housing element is based on a standard ’local housing allowance’ for the size of property that applies to you, even if your rent is higher than this amount. If your rent is lower, your housing element is based on the amount of your actual rent. Each local authority has its own rates for properties of different sizes. Check your local authority’s rates at lha-direct.voa.gov.uk/search.aspx.

Generally, you are allowed one bedroom for:

  • an adult couple;
  • another single adult aged 16 or over;
  • two children under 16 of the same sex;
  • two children under 10;
  • any other child.

You are allowed a maximum of four bedrooms. If you are a single person aged under 35 with no children, the local housing allowance is usually a lower, shared-accommodation rate. This applies regardless of whether you are actually living in shared accommodation. This lower rate does not apply if you are a care leaver under 25, or you get certain disability benefits, and in some other cases. If you are disabled and need overnight care, you may qualify for an additional bedroom for a carer. See CPAG’s Welfare Benefits Handbook for details.

If you rent from a local authority or housing association, your housing element is usually the same as the weekly rent due. However, it is reduced if you are considered to have a spare bedroom (known as the ’bedroom tax’). The rules about how many bedrooms you can have are similar to the local housing allowance rules, but see CPAG’s Welfare Benefits Handbook for more information. If you are considered to have one spare bedroom, the reduction is 14 per cent, and it is 25 per cent if you have two or more spare bedrooms. If your housing element is reduced in this way, you should apply for a discretionary housing payment from the local authority.

A discretionary housing payment can be paid if you get UC that includes a housing costs element and you need additional help with your housing costs - eg, to make up the shortfall in rent due to your housing element being reduced because you have a spare bedroom. Payments are usually awarded for a temporary period, beyond which you have to reapply. Apply to your local authority.

Childcare element

If you are working, you can get help with up to 85 per cent of your childcare costs, up to a maximum monthly amount. You must be in paid work, but there is no minimum number of hours that you must work. If you have a partner, you must both be in paid work, unless your partner is ill or disabled or a carer.

Example

Chloe is 22 and her partner Jo, who is not a student, is 23. They are unemployed and get UC. Chloe starts a full-time, two-year Higher National Diploma course. She gets a student loan for maintenance of £8,000, a special support loan of £2,400, and an independent students’ bursary of £1,000. Their eligible rent is £650 a month.

During the academic year September 2025 to May 2026:

Step 1: Chloe and Jo have no savings or capital.

Step 2: their maximum amount of UC is:

Standard allowance for a couple under 25 £497.55

Housing costs £650.00

Total £1,147.55

Step 3: their monthly income is:

Chloe’s student loan £890.00

The independent students’ bursary and the special support loan are disregarded. The student loan for maintenance is divided over eight months of the academic year, and £110 of the monthly amount is disregarded (see Chapter 12).

Step 4: their income is below their maximum amount, so they get UC of £257.55 a month.

From May 2026 to August 2026:

Step 2: Chloe and Jo’s maximum amount of UC is still £1,147.55 (at 2025/26 rates).

Step 3: their weekly income for UC purposes is nil. This is because Chloe’s student income only counts until the assessment period before the summer vacation.

Step 4: from May 2026 to August 2026, their monthly UC (at 2025/26 rates) is £1,147.55: they get maximum UC from May to August.

References

5. Claiming universal credit

You usually make a claim online at gov.uk/universal-credit/how-to-claim. Help with online claims over the phone, phone claims and in-person claims should also be possible if required. You claim for yourself if you are single or a lone parent. If you are in a couple, you make a joint claim with your partner. You can get help to make your claim from the free Help to Claim phone service run by Citizens Advice (details at citizensadvice.org.uk/helptoclaim).

The DWP administers universal credit (UC), and payments are made monthly in arrears. In Scotland, payments can be made twice-monthly and rent amounts can be paid directly to your landlord.1 In exceptional circumstances, you can request alternative payment arrangements – eg, to get paid more regularly or to get the payment split between you and your partner. This is a discretionary decision. See CPAG’s Welfare Benefits Handbook for more information.

If you are an employee, you do not usually need to report any changes in your earnings, as HMRC provides this information directly to the DWP.

If you do not have enough money to live on while waiting for your first payment of UC, you can ask for an advance payment. This can be for up to 100 per cent of your award, and you repay it over the subsequent 24 months.

UC advances can also be made when your needs have increased and you are waiting for an extra element of UC to be paid with your next monthly regular payment – eg, when you first have a new baby or become responsible for a child. Awards are at the DWP’s discretion. You must repay an advance, usually from the next three months’ UC payments.

You can also ask for a loan, called a budgeting advance of UC, to meet certain needs once you have been getting UC for six months. Budgeting advances of UC must normally be repaid from your next 24 months’ UC payments. See CPAG’s Welfare Benefits Handbook for more information.

Since December 2023, following feedback from the Independent Case Examiner, the DWP says it now requires full student finance information and an award calculation before UC payments can be made to students.2 This is to reduce large overpayments occurring.

If you are on one (or more) of the working-age means-tested benefits that UC is replacing and are told you must now claim UC (ie, under the managed migration process), special rules may apply. Someone who is receiving education and is ‘manage migrated’ to UC can get UC even if they do not fit the usual UC rules (to the end of that course).3 In certain circumstances, this protection is lost – eg, if you form a couple or separate. See CPAG’s Welfare Benefits Handbook for more information.

Reference
References

6. Challenging a decision

If you think a decision about your universal credit is wrong, you can ask the DWP to look at it again. This process is known as a ‘mandatory reconsideration’. Provided you ask within the time limit (usually one month), the DWP 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 the DWP 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 the DWP to look at a decision again at any time if certain grounds are met – eg, if there has been an official error.

7. Other benefits

You cannot make a new claim for income-related employment and support allowance (ESA) or housing benefit (there are some exceptions - see here).

You can get carer support payment (CSP), new-style (contributory) ESA or new-style JSA as well as universal credit (UC), but they are deducted as income.

The benefit cap

Your UC is reduced if your total income from benefits is over the maximum level that you or your partner can receive. The monthly amount is:

  • £1,835.00 if you are a lone parent or member of a couple;
  • £1,229.42 if you are a single person.

The benefits that count towards the cap include child benefit and maternity allowance.

You are exempt from the cap if:

  • you or your partner are working and earning at least £846 a month; or
  • you or your partner are disabled. You or your partner must get certain disability benefits, including disability living allowance (DLA), personal independence payment (PIP), adult disability payment (ADP), ESA with a support component, or UC with a limited capability for work-related activity element; or
  • you are responsible for a child or young person who gets child disability payment, ADP or PIP; or
  • you or your partner are a carer and get CSP or the carer element in UC; or
  • you are a war widow(er).

There is protection for nine months before the cap applies if you are no longer working, or are earning less than £846 a month, but were working and earning at least £846 a month for each of the 12 months before this.

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 award a DHP if UC is reduced because of the benefit cap (you must also have a UC housing cost element).

Passported benefits

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

  • a Best Start grant;
  • Best Start foods;
  • Scottish child payment;
  • funeral support payment;
  • free school lunches from your local authority, provided your earnings (or the earnings of you and your partner) are not more than £850 in the assessment period before your application.

If you get UC and have income below a certain level, you are eligible for:

  • free dental treatment (see here);
  • vouchers for glasses (see here).

You may also be eligible for a school clothing grant - see mygov.scot/clothing-grants.

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 and earn £935 or less a month (or, if you have a partner, your combined earnings are £935 or less a month); or
  • income-related employment and support allowance (ESA); 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 income-related ESA, and it is compared with your needs in the form of premiums and allowances, similar to income-related ESA 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 4 for details of how to qualify for each premium. Your requirements are made up of:

  • personal allowances
Single person aged under 25£72.90
Single person aged under 25, entitled to an ESA component or incapable of work for 28 weeks since 27 October 2008 £92.05
Single person aged 25 or over£92.05
Single person aged 60 or over£227.10
Lone parent aged under 60£92.05
Lone parent aged 60 or over£227.10
Couple, both aged under 60£144.65
Couple, one or both aged 60 or over£346.60
  • premiums
    • carer (as for income-related ESA);
    • 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 ESA with a work-related activity or support component, or have been getting ESA for at least 28 weeks, or have had limited capability for work for at least 28 weeks since 27 October 2008. The amount of the disability premium increases to £48.50 if you are single or a lone parent and get ESA with the support component, get the disability living allowance middle or highest rate care component or get the standard or enhanced rate of the daily living component of personal independence payment or adult disability payment, and have been incapable of work for 28 weeks since 27 October 2008;
    • enhanced disability for an adult (as for income-related ESA and also if you (or your partner) are under 60 and get ESA with a support component);
    • severe disability (as for income-related ESA);
  • weekly rent less any housing benefit (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 income-related ESA, 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 £147.90 (£72.90 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 needs are £92.05 personal allowance plus £80 weekly rent, a total of £172.05. His excess income is £18.47. He must contribute £55.41 (three times his excess income) to his dental treatment. The other £84.59 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)

3. Claiming health benefits

If you are exempt from charges because you are a student under 19 (or, for dental treatment, under 26), you are under 18 or because you get a qualifying benefit, you should fill in the form when you go for treatment.

If you need to claim on low income grounds and do not get a qualifying benefit, claim on Form HC1 (download from nhsbsa.nhs.uk/nhs-low-income-scheme or phone 0300 330 1343 to request a form). If you have less than £6,000 capital, you can claim online at nhsbsa.nhs.uk/nhs-low-income-scheme. You must provide details of your student loan, grant or bursary, and include a copy of your award letter.

If you have already paid for treatment, claim a refund on Form HC5 within three months.

Basic facts

  • Housing benefit (HB) helps with your rent.
  • You cannot usually make a new claim for HB if you are under pension age.
  • It is administered by local authorities.
  • Full-time students are eligible if they are on a non-advanced course and are under 21 (or are 21 and turned 21 on their course).
  • Other full-time students are eligible if they get income-related employment and support allowance, or if they are a lone parent, disabled or over pension age.
  • Couples with a child are eligible throughout the year, whether one or both are students.
  • There are limits to the rent covered by HB.
  • HB is means tested and the amount you get depends on your grant, loan and other income.