Aged between 16 and 19 years benefits and support
Universal Credit
If you are 16 or 17, you will only be able to get Universal Credit in exceptional circumstances such as:
- You have limited capability for work or you have medical evidence and are waiting for a Work Capability Assessment
- you’re caring for a severely disabled person
- you’re responsible for a child
- you’re in a couple with responsibility for at least one child and your partner is eligible for Universal Credit
- you’re pregnant and it’s 11 weeks or less before your expected week of childbirth
- you’ve had a child in the last 15 weeks
- you do not have parental support, for example you’re estranged from your parents and you’re not under local authority care
If you think you may have exceptional circumstances, call the local Job Centre Plus office.
For information about looking for work see Work Redbridge.
Help with your rent
In 2018 Universal Credit replaced Housing Benefit for most people under state pension age.
You can only make a new claim for Housing Benefit to help with your rent if:
- You live in 'temporary accommodation' or 'specified accommodation'.
If these do not apply to you, you must claim Universal Credit for help with your rent. Do not delay in making your claim for Universal Credit or you will lose money.
You will not be awarded Universal Credit if you are living with a parent or other close relative.
For most people under 35 who are single, the Universal Credit housing element (help with rent) is limited to the cost of a bed-sit or a room in shared accommodation. This is called the Local Housing Allowance (LHA). For the current LHA rates for Redbridge please visit the Local Housing Rates.
Parent’s Learning Allowance
For full-time students in England with children who are undergraduates or taking an Initial Teacher Training course
- Might I qualify for Parents' Learning Allowance?
- How do I claim Parents' Learning Allowance?
- How much Parents' Learning Allowance might I get?
Health Costs
You may be able to get help with certain health costs, such as prescriptions, eye care, dental care and travel costs.
Support with finding work
If you live in Redbridge and are over 16 years old, you may be able to get help and support from Work Redbridge. They provide information and advice to Redbridge residents to support them in finding work, training and volunteering opportunities or to explore self-employment.
You can also search online for jobs using the Universal Jobmatch tool.
16 to 19 Bursaries
If you are aged between 16 and 19 and think you might struggle with the costs for full-time education or training you may be able to get a bursary.
