Guide to UK Benefits

I thought I would publish a short Guide to the UK Benefit System, Please note that with the UK Govt's plans for a single universal credit some of the below will cease to exist but many of the benefits below will still be valid. If you have any doubt you can always use The Directgov web site with full details of eligibility and instructions on how to apply.


Benefits A-F

Adult Social Care- assistance with paying for Care(washing, dressing etc) relevant mostly to Senior Citizens

Attendance Allowance- Tax free benefit for people aged 65 or older who are mentally or physically disabled two rates apply of 71,40 GBP per week

Bereavement Allowance- 97,65 GBP weekly payment for up to 52 weeks following the death of a husband, wife or civil partner

Bereavement Payment- one off tax free payment of 2,000 GBP following the death of a husband, wife or civil partner who was under the pension age

Budgeting Loans- Interest free loan for those people on a low income who need assistance with important items such as clothing,travel etc

Carer's Allowance- Taxable benefit for people who look after a disabled individual (there is no need to be related or to live with the disabled individual)

Child Benefit-Benefit for parents to claim for children

Child Tax Credit-Tax credit's are paid to families with children whether they work or not

Cold Weather Payment-25 GBP payment is made for each 7 day period of extreme cold weather from 1 November until 31 March, to help with additional cost of heating during these colder months

Community Care Grant-Benefit meant for people who just moved out of care and who need help to live independently in the Community

Constant Attendance Allowance-benefit for people who need constant care, these people are 100% reliant on the help of a carer and who have undergone medical examination to confirm this and who receive Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit or War Disablement Benefit

Council Tax Benefit- financial aid for those people on low incomes to assist with the payment of their council taxes

Crisis Loans- An interest free loan for people that cannot meet their families needs in a time of emergency or as a result of disaster

Disability Living Allowance-Tax Free Benefit for disabled people, including children that need someone to assist with walking and who needs constant attention or care

Employment and Support Allowance- Paid to people with an illness or disability but this aims to get them back into some kind of work

Funeral Payments- benefit for people on low incomes who need help with paying for a funeral, this may need to get paid back once the estate of the person who died has been settled.

I will be posting more benefits later.