Benefit Information and Resources

Find out what benefits you are entitled to by using one of the Benefits Calculators by clicking below (suggested for use by the DWP). You can also use these links for information on income-related benefits, tax credits, Council Tax Reduction, Carer’s Allowance, Universal Credit and how your benefits will be affected if you start work or change your working hours.

Entitledto

Policy in Practice

Turn2us

Assert have produced a new Eligibility Guide to Benefits (July 2020). This is available to download here:

Assert have written their own Assert Guide to making an application for PIP.

Please use the link to see the PDF guide:

Assert have written an Assert Introduction to Benefits that gives a clear overview of the main benefits and information about these.

Assert have compiled a user friendly Assert Guide to Universal Credit to help people to make independent claims. This Guide contains a list of advice services across East Sussex and has blank forms to help you request reasonable adjustments to your claimant commitment. Download the Universal Credit Guide here:

For more information about other sources of support in applying for benefits, please go to https://www.brighton-hove.gov.uk/content/council-tax-and-benefits/housing-benefit-council-tax-reduction-and-discretionary-help/advice

For information on income-related benefits, tax credits, contribution-based benefits, Council Tax Reduction, Carer’s Allowance, Universal Credit, how these are calculated and how your benefits will be affected if you start work or change your working hours, please see below.

The webtools are:

  • https://pipinfo.net/  – An advisor guide to Personal Independence Payment regulations & case law.
  • https://wcainfo.net/ – An advisor guide to work capability assessment regulations & case law.
  • https://advicelocal.uk/ – A guide to help people find out more about their rights and entitlements regarding benefits, work, money and housing issues. 
  • https://counciltaxhelp.net/ – Helps you find local & national council tax resources, and independent advice agencies in your area.
  • https://universalcreditinfo.net/ – A resource to help people check whether they can claim Universal Credit in their postcode area (and the status of tax credits and other benefit claims), with links to information about how Universal Credit works and to details of independent local advice organisations across the country.

Assert Budgeting workshops and booklet

Assert are able to provide budgeting workshops in small groups of up to 5 people (currently remotely on Zoom, but in person when we are able to do this again) or on a 1:1 basis. We can tailor 1:1 sessions to really help support people in managing their finances.

We also have a short budgeting booklet that can be used to help with managing finances. This can be downloaded here

Universal Credit explained

Universal Credit is the flagship reform of the UK benefit system and is being rolled out in stages throughout the country, replacing the following 6 ‘legacy’ benefits:

  • Income related ESA
  • Income based JSA
  • Income Support
  • Housing Benefit
  • Working Tax Credits
  • Child Tax Credits

To find out how much your household may be entitled to, you can use one of the following benefit calculators:

https://www.turn2us.org.uk/Find-Benefits-Grants
https://www.betteroffcalculator.co.uk/#/free
https://www.entitledto.co.uk/

A full service roll-out of Universal Credit is now live in BN1, BN2 and BN3 postcodes, which means that residents in Brighton and Hove wishing to make a new claim for any of the above benefits will now have to make an application for Universal Credit. Whether you can make an application for Universal Credit is also based on your circumstances, and to find out if your postcode is now ‘live’, please visit https://www.universalcreditinfo.net. To find out more about the Universal Credit roll-out schedule please visit https://www.turn2us.org.uk/Benefit-guides/Universal-Credit-timetable/Universal-Credit-(UC)-roll-out-2017 .

If you receive any of the above benefits and your circumstances have not changed, you do not have to do anything until the Department for Work and Pensions contact you.

It is important to note that once you make a claim for Universal Credit you will no longer be eligible to claim for any of the ‘legacy’ benefits listed above, even if you are currently waiting for a Tribunal hearing. This means that if you are currently appealing a decision regarding your claim for Employment and Support Allowance and start a claim for Universal Credit, you will no longer be eligible for Employment and Support Allowance, regardless of the outcome of your Appeal hearing. To find out more about what to do while you are awaiting the outcome of a mandatory reconsideration or awaiting an appeal hearing for ESA, please contact Emma for more information.

Universal Credit and Housing Benefit

Universal Credit can include a housing costs element to help you pay your rent. As Universal Credit is paid monthly in arrears, it is usually your responsibility to pass on the full rent to your landlord, whether you’re a council or housing association tenant or renting privately. In some situations, you can ask for your housing costs to be paid directly to your landlord. This is called a ‘managed payment’ and you can request this if you have rent arrears or have other priority debts, or if you find it hard to budget because of personal circumstances, disability, mental health problem or addiction issues, or if you live in temporary or supported accommodation.

To find out more about managed payments, call 0800 328 9344 if you manage your Universal Credit claim by phone, or 0800 328 5644 if you manage your Universal Credit claim online.

Your landlord can ask for your housing costs to be paid direct to them if you owe at least twp months’ rent. They will need to complete the necessary paperwork at https://www.gov.uk and should provide details of your arrears. Landlords can also request deductions from your Universal Credit towards the rent you currently owe. Deductions should stop once your arrears are cleared.

Support for Mortgage Interest (SMI)

From April 2018, home owners who receive financial support to cover the cost of mortgage interest payments will no longer receive SMI in the form of a benefit, and will instead need to apply for a Support for Mortgage Interest Loan from the DWP, the cost of which would be recovered when your home is sold. To find out more about if these changes will affect you, or for more information please visit https://www.gov.uk

Skip to content