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Child Benefit
In thev LASA Universal Credit training manual dated 19th October 2012 at page 25 under ‘Other income’ it states that child benefit will continue to be disregarded in full, however on page 28 under the heading The Benefit Cap it states that child benefit will be included in the benefit cap! Please can anyone confirm whether child benefit does count as income or whether it is totally disregarded for the purposes of U/C.
That’s my understanding - UC will ignore CB as income, but the Benefit Cap, controversially, will not.
Thanks for the reply but how can it do both ie if it ignores CB as income then it cannot affect the cap!
Two separate legal beasties I think, both established by the Welfare Reform Act; the Cap exists alongside UC. UC is calculated then the cap applied where ‘appropriate’. It’s completely wibble but it’s so.
Is it confirmed that Child benefit is to be included in the Cap and not taken into account for UC?
Have the gods made a definite decision or are thy still pontificating ?
It’s definite, unless they change their mind of course.
It’s definite, unless they change their mind of course.
Gareth thanks for the conformation
All I can say medium to large families beware .....
UC Reg 79(4)(c) says Child Benefit is counted for the benefit cap, and Reg 66 doesn’t say that it counts as income for the regular UC means test, which means it’s disregarded.
If I have understood the arithmetic right the effect is similar to the way the benefit cap operates now in HB: the Council ignores Child Benefit as income to work out HB but then includes Child Benefit and HB in the cap calculation
If the Benefit Cap ignored CB (and CTC in its pre UC version), it would make the comparison between average waged workers and those on benefit far more realistic and reasonable. The fact that workers on £500pw net will get full CB and frequently CTC and housing benefit ON TOP of their earnings is a subtlety that seems to evade the focus group attendees.
The current position perpetuates a grossly improper comparison, and encourages those with lower incomes (of whatever nature) to blame each other. Just remember ‘We are in this together’!
UC Reg 79(4)(c) says Child Benefit is counted for the benefit cap, and Reg 66 doesn’t say that it counts as income for the regular UC means test, which means it’s disregarded.
If I have understood the arithmetic right the effect is similar to the way the benefit cap operates now in HB: the Council ignores Child Benefit as income to work out HB but then includes Child Benefit and HB in the cap calculation
Indeed .. for the benefit cap so it wont be counted for UC in effect they have just redesignated the method of deduction
[ Edited: 14 May 2013 at 11:11 am by Louise Haycock ]