Child leaving education

cmr1995

Child is leaving education in a few months, so far has been unable to obtain an apprenticeship.   Will they be able to receive any government financial help towards looking for a job and for medical expenses, dentist, prescriptions etc until they get an apprenticeship or job.    As a family we do not currently receive any benefits. 

poppy12345

cmr1995 said:

Child is leaving education in a few months, so far has been unable to obtain an apprenticeship.   Will they be able to receive any government financial help towards looking for a job and for medical expenses, dentist, prescriptions etc until they get an apprenticeship or job.    As a family we do not currently receive any benefits. 

One they leave full time eduction then they will be able to claim Universal Credit. Once this starts they will be able to recieve free NHS treatment providing their earnings during each assessment period is less than £435. https://www.nhs.uk/nhs-services/help-with-health-costs/help-with-health-costs-for-people-getting-universal-credit/

Once they start working they will need to report the changes. Information here regarding UC. https://www.understandinguniversalcredit.gov.uk/

calcotti

How old are they? They can, in most cases, only claim UC if over 18, see https://www.gov.uk/universal-credit/eligibility

Spoonie_Turtle

NHS Low Income Scheme if they are not able to claim any benefits https://www.nhs.uk/nhs-services/help-with-health-costs/nhs-low-income-scheme-lis/

Rubyroobs

When my son was in this situation last year I was told on here that he could not claim UC until the 31st August after he left college, so we waited until then. I'm not sure whether this was correct . Like you we do not claim any benefits and just claimed child benefit for him.

poppy12345

Rubyroobs said:

When my son was in this situation last year I was told on here that he could not claim UC until the 31st August after he left college, so we waited until then. I'm not sure whether this was correct . Like you we do not claim any benefits and just claimed child benefit for him.

It will depend on the individual person. My daughter left full time education at the start of the new year this year, she's 19 and i claimed UC successfully for her and she had her first payment on 24th Feb.

tacpot12

It would be worth making sure that your child gets into the habit of giving some of their UC to you as a contribution to their cost of living. The sooner they get into this habit, the sooner they will be able to manage when they eventually leave home. You need to make sure that they retain enough to help with all aspects of their jobhunting.

NedS

Rubyroobs said:

When my son was in this situation last year I was told on here that he could not claim UC until the 31st August after he left college, so we waited until then. I'm not sure whether this was correct . Like you we do not claim any benefits and just claimed child benefit for him.

Yes, that's most likely correct.

Firstly, the child must be over 18 to claim UC. At under 18, parent are expected to support them, and they can claim Child Benefit, and WTC or UC as a means tested top up to help if they are on low incomes.

So the child can claim once they have turned 18 and the child benefit has stopped - which is normally first week in September, as child benefit payments will continue past the child's 18 birthday until then.