Is my son entitled to Universal Credit?

scrooge2008

Hi, I would really appreciate some help here.  Our son is 22 and has lived with us while studying at University. He is finishing his dissertation now and has his final exams at the end of April 2021.  Because of the Covid 19 situation he has missed out on placements and now has the potential opportunity, on finishing his degree, of working with a construction company through the 'Kickstart' scheme.  To qualify for this, he would need to go on to Universal Credit, which I had always understood was means tested.

My husband works full-time and I also work and am doing a full-time nursing degree, so our combined income is approximately £3,500/£4,000 per month. I did not think he would be entitled to Universal Credit as he has not paid any NI and we earn enough to support him, but I have plugged information into 'entitled to' and it says he qualifies for £257.33 a month.  Does that sound plausible, or have I made a mistake?

Thank you.

Caz3121

yours and your husbands income would not be relevant for a claim. His student finance may impact....when is that paid up till/official end date of course?

scrooge2008

Thanks Caz3121, that surprises me about our income being disregarded. That is a good point about when the official end of course date is and when student finance is paid up to - I will ask him to check with SAAS/University tomorrow.

poppy12345

Your Income and his entitlement to benefits are completely different. Although full time students can only claim UC under specific circumstances. See link. https://cpag.org.uk/sites/default/files/files/resource/CPAG-scot-factsheet-universal-credit-students-Apr21.pdf

Once the course offically ends then he can claim.

scrooge2008

Thanks Poppy too, that link is really helpful.  Officially his course ends on 30th April 2021 and his last student loan payment is made to him on the 7th May 2021 for £475.00.  Should he apply on the 8th May 2021?  We live in Scotland, if that makes a difference?

NedS

scrooge2008 said:

Thanks Poppy too, that link is really helpful.  Officially his course ends on 30th April 2021 and his last student loan payment is made to him on the 7th May 2021 for £475.00.  Should he apply on the 8th May 2021?  We live in Scotland, if that makes a difference?

No, that payment on 7th May is to last him until the end of term when the University course officially finishes, usually some when in July. Unless he has some qualifying criteria, he will not be eligible to claim Universal Credit until after the official end date of his University course, as he is still formally a student until then, regardless of when his last exam / class etc may be.

elsien

Isn’t the criteria for Kickstart also that the young person is at risk of being long term unemployed?
I have no idea how the scheme  would quantify that but it seems a bit of a stretch for someone who is just finishing their degree and has been a student rather than being unemployed? 

Not knocking him for wanting to do it, just wondering if the UC element is only part of the criteria? 

scrooge2008

Thanks NedS for clarifying that - end of term being the key and not the end of the course.  

poppy12345

elsien said:

Isn’t the criteria for Kickstart also that the young person is at risk of being long term unemployed?

Yes, according to this like here that's correct. https://www.redwigwam.com/kickstart?campaign=12196658637&content=495000127438&keyword

Caz3121

elsien said:

Isn’t the criteria for Kickstart also that the young person is at risk of being long term unemployed?
I have no idea how the scheme  would quantify that but it seems a bit of a stretch for someone who is just finishing their degree and has been a student rather than being unemployed? 

Not knocking him for wanting to do it, just wondering if the UC element is only part of the criteria? 

the info on the site says
Jobs from the Kickstart Scheme are open to 16-24 year olds, who are claiming Universal Credit, and are at risk of long term unemployment. If you have a work coach they will talk to you about the Kickstart Scheme and whether it’s right for you.

I wonder how key that 'and' is and how, as you say, they would quantify this and what the take-up levels there are for these positions....do they get 100 applicants for each job or are there more jobs that applicants?
https://jobhelp.campaign.gov.uk/kickstart/

Spoonie_Turtle

Caz3121 said:

elsien said:

Isn’t the criteria for Kickstart also that the young person is at risk of being long term unemployed?
I have no idea how the scheme  would quantify that but it seems a bit of a stretch for someone who is just finishing their degree and has been a student rather than being unemployed? 

Not knocking him for wanting to do it, just wondering if the UC element is only part of the criteria? 

the info on the site says
Jobs from the Kickstart Scheme are open to 16-24 year olds, who are claiming Universal Credit, and are at risk of long term unemployment. If you have a work coach they will talk to you about the Kickstart Scheme and whether it’s right for you.

I wonder how key that 'and' is and how, as you say, they would quantify this and what the take-up levels there are for these positions....do they get 100 applicants for each job or are there more jobs that applicants?
https://jobhelp.campaign.gov.uk/kickstart/

If it's anything like Jobcentre programmes used to be (which, granted, may well have changed since I last claimed JSA) there could be a time threshold for how long they've been unemployed - that was explained to me as being the main criterion when they sent me to various things.  There may also be other factors, e.g. location, type and availability of jobs locally, lack of individual employment history, etc.

I can't remember what it was called at the time but I got my first job through exactly this type of programme ... of course at the end of the 6 months I was unemployed again because the employer couldn't afford to keep me on!  But at that time I was unemployed with some experience under my belt which certainly helped my confidence, if nothing else.