Universal Credit - Print version

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Universal Credit is administered by the DWP and not by Coventry City Council. It means a significant change to the way benefits are received. It is paid monthly in arrears and will include housing costs (rent). It replaces all of the following benefits, also known as 'legacy benefits':

  • Income Support
  • Income-based Jobseeker's Allowance
  • Income-related Employment and Support Allowance
  • Housing Benefit
  • Child Tax Credit and Working Tax Credit

You will not be able to claim help with your Council Tax within Universal Credit. You must claim this separately with Coventry City Council.

Apply for Council Tax Support

Universal Credit does not include a number of other benefits including:

Claiming Universal Credit in Coventry

Universal Credit has been "live" in all areas in Coventry since 11 July 2018.

Universal Credit fully replaces the ‘legacy benefits’. These are:

  • Income based Jobseekers Allowance (JSA)
  • Income related Employment Support Allowance (ESA)
  • Housing Benefit
  • Child Tax Credit
  • Working Tax Credit
  • Income Support

It means that you cannot make a new claim for any of those six ‘legacy benefits’. You would instead need to claim for Universal Credit.

Once you have made a claim for Universal Credit you cannot return to the legacy benefits.

What does this mean for me?

  • If you need to make a new claim for one of the ‘legacy benefits' you will have to claim Universal Credit.
  • If you are receiving one or more of the ‘legacy benefits' you may need to claim Universal Credit when you have certain changes in your circumstances. The following are examples of a change which could trigger a claim for Universal Credit:
    • Becoming responsible for a child for the first time
    • Moving from out of work to in work
    • Moving from in work to out of work
    • Moving from out of work to sick
    • Moving from sick to out of work
    • Moving from sick to in work
    • Moving from in work to sick
    • Lone parent receiving Income Support and youngest child reaches age 5
    • Claiming Housing Benefit and move into a UC Full Service area
    • Becoming liable to pay rent for the first time
  • When you make a claim for Universal Credit, any of the ‘legacy benefits’ you are already receiving will stop. You will receive all of your benefit entitlement as part of your Universal Credit award.
  • Universal Credit is usually claimed online. If you need help when making your claim call the Jobcentre helpline on 0800 328 5644 – which is available Monday to Friday, 8am to 6pm.
  • You can get help to claim Universal Credit online. See Help with making your claim online and managing your money [http://www.coventry.gov.uk/info/54/benefits/2641/universal_credit/7] for more information.

It is expected that most people in receipt of a legacy benefit will be moved over to Universal Credit by the Department for Works and Pensions by the end of March 2025. Further information on migration to Universal Credit [https://www.coventry.gov.uk/benefits-1/universal-credit-managed-migration].

Who is affected by Universal Credit?

If you are State Pension age [http://www.gov.uk/state-pension-age] you will not be affected. For couples, people will only be able to claim Pension Credit when both partners are over State Pension Age. If one partner is below State Pension Age you will have to claim Universal Credit. For more information, contact Age UK [https://www.ageuk.org.uk/coventryandwarwickshire/] or call them on 02476 231 999

Households of working age who claim in work or out of work benefits will be affected.

If you are living in rented accommodation and receive care, support or supervision as part of your tenancy or you are living in temporary homeless accommodation you will continue to claim Housing Benefit to support with your rent costs. If you need to make a new claim for any of the other five ‘legacy benefits’ you will claim Universal Credit for your living costs but not for your housing costs.

How to claim Universal Credit

Universal Credit is claimed online.

These videos by the DWP [https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC7Km4IXfVJB1n8SQUmkJD0Q] show you how to make the Universal Credit online claim, create an online account and verify who you are. 

Apply for Universal Credit now [https://www.gov.uk/apply-universal-credit]

Jobcentre Plus provides a telephone number for help and advice on making an online claim which is available from Monday to Friday, 8am to 6pm.

  • Call 0800 328 5644

Once the online claim is made, you will be contacted to arrange an appointment at the Jobcentre Plus office, within a few days. You must attend the appointment or your claim for Universal Credit could be delayed.

If you try to claim Universal Credit online but you are not eligible, you may be directed to claim other benefits.

How Universal Credit is paid

Universal Credit payments will be made one month in arrears.

It usually takes five to six weeks to receive your first Universal Credit payment. There can be additional delays with administrative or verification issues. More information on your first payment [http://www.gov.uk/universal-credit/how-youre-paid].

If you don’t have enough money to live on while waiting for your first Universal Credit payment you can ask for an advance payment. You can receive an advance as soon as you have provided proof of your identity. The advance has to be paid back, therefore an amount will be deducted from your future Universal Credit payments. You can ask to receive your advance in instalments. Don't ask for more than you need, this will help to increase the amount you receive in your future Universal Credit payments.

You can ask for an advance payment at your Universal Credit interview or by calling the helpline after you have made a claim.

0800 328 5644 (Monday to Friday 8am to 6pm).

More details about Universal Credit advance payments. [https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/benefits/universal-credit/claiming/get-advance-payment/]

You can receive an advance up until the last few days before you are due to receive your first Universal Credit payment. You may be able to get support through Coventry City Council’s Household Support Fund [/householdsupportfund] with a Crisis Award in the last few days before you are due to receive your first Universal Credit payment.

Help with rent

The housing costs element of Universal Credit replaces Housing Benefit for tenants. If you are in receipt of Universal Credit you will no longer be able to claim Housing Benefit from Coventry City Council, this will be included in your Universal Credit award.

Your housing costs element is usually paid direct to you, rather than being paid to your landlord.

It is important to make rent your top priority. You will need to set up a method to pay the rent. If you are claiming Universal Credit make sure to tell your landlord so they can provide proof of your rent. Your landlord may also be able to offer other advice on making your rent payments.

If you are already receiving Housing Benefit you will receive a further two weeks Housing Benefit from when you claim Universal Credit. This will not affect the amount of your first Universal Credit award. It should help to manage the change from Housing Benefit payments to Universal Credit. You will not need to ask for this, it will be awarded automatically. You may be contacted to ask for your bank details to make payment if you have moved address and your payments were being made to your old landlord.

When you claim Universal Credit you will be asked if your landlord was receiving your Housing Benefit payment direct. If they were then your Universal Credit amount for housing costs can also be paid direct to your landlord.

If your circumstances mean that you can’t manage your rent payments yourself, or you are struggling to manage your rent payments or fall behind with your rent then you can ask to have the housing costs element of your Universal Credit paid directly to your landlord. You can also have an amount deducted from your Universal Credit to pay your arrears if you can’t make an arrangement with your landlord.

Get help with debt and rent arrears if you're on Universal Credit. [http://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/benefits/universal-credit/on-universal-credit/universal-credit-debt-rent-arrears/]

If you are in receipt of Universal Credit, which includes Housing Costs for rent payments, and you are struggling to pay all of your rent you may be eligible for extra help through a Discretionary Housing Payment .

Universal Credit does not include help towards your Council Tax. You can continue to claim Council Tax Support from Coventry City Council

Help with making an online claim and managing your money

Help with the online claim

If you do not have access to the internet on a computer, tablet or mobile phone you can use a computer for free at:

Getting help to make a new Universal Credit Claim

From 1 April 2019, the Department for Works and Pensions transferred the responsibility to deliver help to claim Universal Credit (Universal Support) from the Council to Citizens Advice. Their ‘help to claim Universal Credit service’ will assist you to make a new claim for Universal Credit and will provide you with budgeting advice.

Coventry Citizens Advice offer support with making a new claim for Universal Credit, from opening your account to receiving your full first payment.

Their trained advisers can help you to:

  • Set up your Universal Credit account
  • Verify your identity
  • Make sure you’re providing the right evidence to the Jobcentre
  • Understand what Universal Credit will mean for you
  • Complete your claim ‘ to do’s’

If you are not sure what help you need, just get in touch and they will work out what support you need. You can:

Visit CAB at Kirby House, 15 Little Park Street, Coventry CV1 2JZ between 9am - 4pm weekdays

Call Freephone 0800 144 8 444 (England)

Visit the Citizens Advice website [https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/benefits/universal-credit/] for more information on Universal Credit.

Are you unsure how much benefit you will receive, or how much money you will have left once you have paid your bills?

Use our handy benefits calculator [https://betteroffcalculator.co.uk/api/remoteAuth/6188dae41629cd61480033f716ec4acd76b9da41b8748bf5c62e58b8a07096b5] to:

  • See how much benefit you might be entitled to
  • Help to identify your priority bills and manage your money
  • See how changes in your circumstances would affect your income

There are also a number of local and national agencies [http://www.coventry.gov.uk/info/54/benefits/2641/universal_credit/11] that can provide advice and support.

Preparing for Universal Credit

You can prepare for Universal Credit by taking the following actions:

1. Make sure you have a suitable account for payments

To receive your Universal Credit payments you need a bank or building society account. You can also use an account with an alternative provider, like a Credit Union [https://www.coventry.gov.uk/council-tax-benefits/money-debt-advice-1/2]. The account must be able to accept electronic payments.

Get more details from the Money Advice Service [https://www.moneyadviceservice.org.uk/en/articles/choosing-a-bank-account-for-your-universal-credit-payment] including how to get an account and what they involve.

2. Do you need a joint account?

If you live with your partner and you are both eligible for Universal Credit, you’ll only get a single monthly payment. You may wish to open a joint account to make sure you both have access to your Universal Credit payment.

3. Set up a way to pay your rent

Your rent will no longer be paid direct to your landlord like it was under Housing Benefit. Instead the payment for your rent will be included in your monthly Universal Credit payment. You will need to pay it to your landlord yourself, unless you have had a direct payment to your landlord agreed. You may find it easier to set up an automatic payment like a Direct Debit [https://www.directdebit.co.uk/DirectDebitExplained/pages/whatisdirectdebit.aspx] so you don’t need to remember to make the payment every month.

4. Make a monthly budget plan

Universal Credit is paid monthly in arrears, so you may need to make changes to the way you budget. It’s important to budget so your payment lasts for the whole month.

5. Plan ahead with your rent, make it a priority

If you are able to do so start making small extra payments on your rent account now. This will mean you have a credit in place when you do make a claim for Universal Credit.

To help you understand what changes you may need to make, the government have also produced an online Universal Credit personal planner; 'getting ready for Universal Credit'. [http://ucpp.dwp.gov.uk/universal-credit-preparation/]

More information about Universal Credit

Details about what deductions can be made from your Universal Credit payment to pay off arrears of rent or fuel, water rates, loans or fines and so on [https://www.gov.uk/bills-benefits].

You can find more information about your responsibilities under Universal Credit at DWP description 'Universal Credit and your Claimant Commitment' [https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/universal-credit-and-your-claimant-commitment-quick-guide/universal-credit-and-your-claimant-commitment] and Citizens Advice description of the work-related requirements [https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/benefits/universal-credit/interview/claimant-commitment-what-group/].

You may find useful the Money Advice Service’s special Universal Credit online practical support and advice website​ [https://www.moneyadviceservice.org.uk/en/categories/universal-credit].

This sets out important information about how claimants can give advisers and others supporting them consent to discuss their Universal Credit award with Jobcentre Plus.

You can find lots more information about Universal Credit from Disability Rights UK [http://www.disabilityrightsuk.org/universal-credit-uc] and the government’s, ‘Universal Credit toolkit’ [https://www.gov.uk/universal-credit-toolkit-for-partner-organisations] and their introduction to Universal Credit called "Universal Credit and you" [https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/universal-credit-and-you].

To understand what Universal Credit means for you, whether its making a claim or what you need to do when you are receiving Universal Credit go to Understanding Universal Credit [http://www.understandinguniversalcredit.gov.uk/].

Information for employers and landlords

Contacts

In Coventry, there are a group of agencies that are determined to ensure that people understand are able to manage the Universal Credit system. 

You can access a range of advice and support from national and local agencies. Contact details for these agencies are listed below.

Coventry agencies

Coventry Citizens Advice

An independent charity which provides information, advice and guidance on welfare, debt and other issues, which is free, impartial, independent and confidential.

Coventry City Council Benefit Service

Advice about Housing Benefit, Council Tax Support, free school meals and other local welfare support.

Coventry Independent Advice Service

Free, confidential advice and information on benefits and money problems. This service is available at community venues across Coventry.

Coventry City Council Job Shop

Free information and advice about job opportunities for Coventry residents.

Coventry Law Centre

Providing advice and support on sanctions and appeals for all client groups.

New Central Credit Union

An alternative financial organisation to a bank or building society, offering low-cost loans and savings services.

Coventry and District Credit Union

An alternative financial organisation to a bank or building society, offering low-cost loans and savings services.

Citizen (previously Whitefriars)

Registered Social Landlord in Coventry. 

National Agencies

Budgeting and money advice

Free and impartial money advice.

Jobcentre Plus

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) is responsible for welfare, pensions and child maintenance policy. As the UK's biggest public service department it administers State Pensions and a range of working age, disability and ill health benefits to around 18 million claimants and customers.

Citizens Advice telephone helpline - Adviceline

Midland Heart

Registered Social Landlord in Coventry.

What to do if my Universal Credit is sanctioned

What is a sanction?

In return for receiving Universal Credit you will need to do certain things. This may include looking and preparing for work, attending appointments with your work coach. What is asked of you will depend on your situation and will be recorded in your Claimant Commitment. If you fail to do what you have agreed in your claimant commitment without good reason, or without notifying the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), your Universal Credit payments may be reduced for a set period. This is known as a sanction.

Appealing a Sanction

If you receive a sanction and you think this is wrong, contact the DWP within one month of the decision to say why you disagree. Ask for the decision to be looked at again. This is known as a mandatory reconsideration.  

The DWP will send you a letter once they have looked at the decision again. The decision may have been changed. If it hasn't they will explain why not. The letter will tell you how you can appeal to a tribunal if you are still unhappy with the decision

Find out more about how to appeal [https://www.gov.uk/appeal-benefit/decisions-made-on-after-28-october-2013]

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