Can anyone help please?

[Kathyan]

A friend of mine who was on Income support has just been told that because her son was 16 at the beginning of November she was no longer entitled to claim IS and has had to make a claim for Job Seekers Allowance. Her son doesn't leave school until May next year and although she will still get Child Benefit the Job Centre have told her that she can't claim anything else for him. How is she supposed to keep him? She realises that she will have to get a job, but surely if her son doesn't leave school until May she should be paid for him until then?

[Buenchico]

OK, I'm confused.

The Income Support Tables are here:
http://www.jobcentreplus.gov.uk/cms.asp?Page=/Home/Custo mers/WorkingAgeBenefits/493
They show that the personal allowance for a single parent is �56.20 per week. They also show that the personal allowance for a dependent child (which must, I'm sure, include any child still attending school) is �43.88 per week for children 'from birth to the day before 19th birthday'. (So I'm not too sure why the 16th birthday should be so important).

The Income-Based JSA tables are here:
http://www.jobcentreplus.gov.uk/cms.asp?Page=/Home/Custo mers/WorkingAgeBenefits/497
They show that the personal allowance for a single parent is �56.20 per week. They also show that the personal allowance for a dependent child is �43.88 per week for children 'from birth to the day before 19th birthday'.

Now, it doesn't take a genius to spot that the two sets of figures are identical. So, as long as your friend will be getting Income-based JSA (rather than Contribution-based JSA), which she should do, then shouldn't be any reduction in her income.

I don't claim to be an expert in this field but I do know that the people at your local Citizen's Advice Bureau should be able to point your friend in the right direction.

Chris

[joko]

as far as i am aware jsa is the same amount as IS so it should make a difference - she wil stil receive the same money

[Kathyan]

Thanks for your answers. I was under the same impression, that she should still be entitled to claim for her son, but I have not been on benefits since marrying my husband eight years ago and I am not up to date with the rules etc. She is not the brightest button in the tin and she may not have understood what they were telling her. I will phone her later and tell her that she should still get paid for him. Thanks again.

[louadams6]

income support is only paid to you until your child is 16 kathyan, they then expect you to go back to work.

redhelen income support has not completely changed over to tax credits yet although they are in the process of doing this automatically.

[zebra]

kathyan, your friend can still claim for her son whilst in receipt of child benefit for him on the basis that he is in relevant education, up to his 19th birthday if needs be, the childs personal allowance is paid via childrens tax credits now but this doesn't make any difference to the amount of benefit she receives, it changed over a couple of years ago approx.

The only change on the childs 16th birthday why JSA has to be claimed is that the parent is deemed capable of seeking work ( unless covered by a doctors cert) in other words Income Support is not payable as a parent of a 16 year old is no longer required to be permanently at home due to childs age. So the parent claims JSA and childrens tax credits instead of Income Support and Childrens tax credits.

Tell your friend not to worry her income will not decrease as long as child benefit in payment and son in education.