Spanish_Dave said:
Hi all, My daughter who is 19, single, no children and a college student (full time) has been offerd a council flat, she has no income whatsoever, not even EMA. She has a Jobcentreplus meeting to discuss JSA and housing benefit to see if she is entitled. She is available for work at least 3 full days a week and evenings
My question is how do I prepare her for what to say to ensure she is entitled?
Any DS answers would be greatly appreciated.
Dave
Hi Dave
A few things to be aware of, first off the fact she is a "full time" student may effect her JSA payment, in so much as, students have to be studying 16 hours or under to qualify for full JSA.
If she does not qualify, she may be entitled to income support.(ESA)
But she may be entitled to housing benefit regardless of her study hours.
On the housing side of life, she will get her council tax paid, but dependant on the number of rooms of the property she is allocated, would depend on the amount of housing benefit she would get, ie if she was given a 2 bed flat, she would not get full housing benefit and would have to find the remaining rent herself.
This is because she only requires one room, despite what the council offer her, but can only assume the council would offer a one bed anyway.
All forms will be issued at the interview.
There are also lots of grants available, such as a community care grant to help furnish the property.
She will also have to show her "learning agreement" when she goes to the interview, to prove what hours she is studying.
No benefits will be processed until they have seen this form, so priority that she takes this along.
There is a calculator on your local .gov website, so she can work out roughly what she might be entitled to.
Any more you want to know PM me, my mrs works at the JCP so have loads of info on tap.