Watch our webinar on Universal Credit and young disabled people in education

11 mins read

Wednesday 5 March 2025

We also answer your questions we weren’t able to get to in the session.

Last week our Family Finance Team ran a webinar looking at rules that determine which young people in education can claim Universal Credit.

The webinar is now available to watch on Contact’s YouTube channel. You’ll also be able to download the powerpoint presentation accompanying the webinar – see the description notes.

Your questions answered

The webinar was popular, with almost 50 parent carers in attendance. Our advisers were asked more questions than they were able to answer during the session.

We have answered the questions we weren’t able to address on the day below, with some similar questions merged into a single common enquiry.

My child will be moving from school to a 6th form college in September. However, he doesn’t turn 16 until July. When can he claim Universal Credit?

The earliest date that it is possible to claim Universal Credit or make a ‘credits only’ claim for new style ESA is a child’s 16th birthday.

Because your child is in full-time non-advanced education, the only way that he will be able to get Universal Credit is if he establishes a limited capability for work before he starts his new course. You can make a ‘credits only’ claim for new style ESA as soon as he turns 16 and hope that you get a decision back before his new course starts.

However, there is a risk that he will not get a decision back in time. If he doesn’t get a decision back on his capability for work until after he has started his new course, he will not be exempt from the restrictions on claims by students and will be refused Universal Credit.

If you are lucky and a decision is turned around quickly before he starts his new course, you will have the option of helping him claim Universal Credit as a young adult. However, you need to remember that if he gets Universal Credit in his own right, this will bring to an end any benefits you receive for him as a dependent child as well as any child support payments you get.

Will someone who is on a level 3 Apprenticeship be classed as receiving education?

In most cases, someone who is an apprentice will have a contract of employment. This means that they are treated as an employee and not as someone who is in education. If your child is on an apprenticeship and does not have a contract of employment, then the situation will be more complex. You should call our helpline for individual advice if this applies to you.

My 18yr old daughter studies one A-level via an EOTAS package at home. This involves six hours a week. Do I need to establish a limited capability for work before she can claim Universal Credit.

As your daughter’s course involves fewer than 12 hours’ study per week, I assume that you are not receiving any payments for her as a dependent child such as Child Benefit, Universal Credit child amounts or any child support.

If you are getting any of these payments, please call our free helpline to discuss your case in more detail. 


Assuming no such payments are being made then you should be looking at making a claim for Universal Credit for her in her own right. Because she is a part-time student, she does not necessarily need to establish a limited capability for work before she claims Universal Credit. If she claims now, she should be paid Universal Credit under the normal rules so long as the DWP do not argue that her course is not compatible with any work-related requirements attached to her claim.

But if they do argue that her course and claim are incompatible and refused her Universal Credit, you should lodge a ’credits only’ claim for new style ESA. If she establishes a limited capability for work and work related activity, you should then lodge a second claim for Universal Credit which should definitely be successful.

How do we find out how much my child could potentially get under Universal Credit?

As Universal Credit is means-tested the amount paid to a child depends on their other income and what capital they have – if any. If a child has capital that is less than £6,000 and no other income that is taken into account (PIP and other disability benefits like the Scottish Adult Disability Payment are ignored) they would normally start off with a Universal Credit payment of £311.68 per month.

However, an extra £416.19 pcm can be added to that (a payment known as the LCWRA element) once they have established a limited capability for work and work related activity.

If my young person gets Universal Credit, will this affect their social care support and funding?

If your child is aged 18 or over and receiving a package of social care, then getting Universal Credit is likely to lead to them being asked to make a contribution towards the costs of their care. Most local authorities charge adults for care services. They are allowed to take Universal Credit into account as income for charging purposes.

My son is 18 and is on my Universal Credit claim. Can I still make a credits only claim for new style ESA for him ready for when he is 19?

Yes this is definitely a good idea. Establishing a limited capability for work well in advance is always sensible and because you are making a ‘credits only’ claim this will not interfere with your child benefit or UC child payments you get in the meantime. Once the Universal Credit payments you get for him as a dependent child stop on 31 Aug after his 19th birthday, you will then be able to claim Universal Credit for him as a young person instead. So long as he has established limited capability for work by that point he should be able to get Universal Credit despite still being in education. 


My daughter is 17 and in full time non-advanced education she has no savings, what is she entitled to claim please?

Because your daughter is in full time non advanced education and has not yet reached the Sept after her 19th birthday, she is not going to be eligible to get Universal Credit on her current course. We would recommend that you make a ‘credits only’ claim for new style ESA at the earliest point. If she established a limited capability for work this will help her qualify for Universal Credit in the future if she either changes course or stays in her existing course beyond the August after her 19th birthday. In the meantime, she cannot claim Universal Credit for herself but you can continue to get Child Benefit instead and – if your income is low enough – Universal Credit payments for her as a dependent child.

I made a credits only claim for my 18 yr old in September.  She turned 19 in December and comes off my Universal Credit claim this Summer.  I’ve still had no letter back from my ESA claim nor a work capability assessment form sent out.  I have chased the DWP but nothing has been done yet.

The average wait for a decision on a ‘credits only’ claim is around 3-4 months. It is worrying that you have not even been sent a work capability assessment questionnaire yet. You should approach a local advice service such as a CAB to see if they will help you to lodge a complaint about the delays you have experienced in the processing of your child’s application.

My child has already established a limited capability for work via a credits only claim for new style ESA. When does this run out? is there a time limit on it?

When a decision is made that a young person has LCW or LCWRA there is no time limit on this decision. They continue to have this status indefinitely. They will only stop being treated as having LCW or LCWRA if they are put back through a new work capability assessment by the DWP and are found fit to work.

You mentioned that it is left to a work coach to decide whether or not to switch off work related conditions. Do they follow any guidelines or is it just up to an individual work coach?

As far as we are aware there are no specific guidelines on this and it is left to the individual work coach to decide what work related conditions are appropriate in light of the individual young person’s disability and the need to make reasonable adjustments. Where work conditions have been applied that you believe to be unreasonable it would be worth speaking to an independent benefits adviser about challenging the level of work conditionality attached to a young person’s claim.

My 16 year old has an EHC plan and receives full time education at home via an EOTAS package. They are not able to work because of their difficulties. Can they claim Universal Credit and will the DWP expect them to be looking for working whilst their application is in process?

Assuming that your home education package has been approved by the DWP then your child will be treated as in full time non-advanced education. This would mean that they are a qualifying young person for benefits purposes and will not be able to ger Universal Credit as they did not establish a limited capability for work prior to their education starting. However, it would be a good idea to lodge a ‘credits only’ claim for new style ESA. Because no ESA will actually be in payment they will not be required to look for work while awaiting the outcome of their work capability assessment.

When does Child Benefit normally stop?

Child Benefit is automatically paid until the 31st August after a child’s 16th birthday. It can then continue until a child’s 19th birthday so long as they remain in full-time non-advanced education. This can be extended further to the day before your child’s 20th birthday if they remain on a full time non-advanced course that they had started or were enrolled on or accepted onto prior to turning 19. However please note that if your son or daughter starts to receive Universal Credit in their own right as a young adult, Child Benefit – and any other benefits you get for them as a dependent child such as Universal Credit child payments – will stop immediately.

I’m still a bit confused. Can a young person who is 16 and has an EHCP claim UC/ESA?

A young person in education cannot get Universal Credit simply because they have an EHCP. If their course is full-time they will be refused Universal Credit as someone who is ‘receiving education’ – unless they are in one of the groups of students who are exempt from the student restrictions (i.e. without parental support). They are not exempt simply because they are disabled. For this to apply they would need to not only be on a disability benefit but also have established a limited capability for work before they started their current course.

If their course is part-time (and they have passed the 31 August after their 16th birthday) they could claim Universal Credit. However, their chances of being awarded Universal Credit would depend on the extent that their work coach is willing to switch off work related conditions.

There is nothing preventing a 16 year old with an EHCP from making a credits only claim for new style ESA. This will not lead to any benefit payments as your child will not have sufficient national insurance contributions to qualify for ESA itself. However, it will force the DWP to carry out a work capability assessment and make a decision on their capability for work. This may in turn help with a future claim for Universal Credit.

What happens if my child isn’t able to attend a work capability assessment due to their disabilities?

The DWP need to decide how an assessment should be carried out in each individual case. However, at the moment the majority are carried out without any face-to-face assessment. The vast bulk are currently based on the paper evidence alongside a telephone assessment. Around 12% are based on paper evidence alone and only around 10% involve a face-to-face consultation with a health professional.