Claiming Universal Credit As a Self-Employed Claimant

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

Claiming Universal Credit As a Self-Employed Claimant CLAIMING UNIVERSAL CREDIT AS A SELF-EMPLOYED CLAIMANT This briefing is designed to give an overview on how to claim Universal Credit claim as a self-employed claimant only. Should you require more detailed information on this or any other social security issue, please contact Equity’s Tax and Welfare Rights Advice and Rights Helpline on 0207 670 0223 or email [email protected] The helpline is open on Mondays and Thursdays from 10.00 am – 1.00 pm and 2.00 – 5.00 pm. What is Universal Credit? Universal Credit is a means-tested, tax-free benefit which replaces income support, income- based JSA, income-related Employment Support Allowance, Housing Benefit and Tax Credits (Child Tax Credits and Working Tax Credit). It is planned that existing claims of most means- tested benefits and tax credits will be transferred to UC from 2020. Universal Credit does not replace two key income replacement benefits that are based on your national insurance contributions. These are contribution-based Jobseeker’s Allowance or contributory Employment Support Allowance. For more information on these benefits, please see our briefing sheet ‘Claiming new Style JSA and ESA.’ If you are in receipt of contribution-based benefits, and liable to pay rent, you will still need to claim Universal Credit Housing costs (formerly Housing Benefit). Universal Credit does not cover Council Tax costs. For help towards council tax payments, you will need to claim Council Tax Reduction from the local authority (formerly Council Tax Benefit). Capital Note: that if you have savings above £16,000 you will not qualify for Universal Credit. If you have savings between £6,000 and £16,000 then the DWP will assume a monthly income from savings of £4.35 per month for every £250 above £6,000 and add that to any other income. Two child-limit Anyone who is responsible for a child born on or after 6 April 2017 will not receive the child element of UC for that child unless there is no more than one child already on the claim or an exception applies. For more information about the exceptions, see https://www.entitledto.co.uk/help/Exemptions_to_2_child_limit 2018-19 1 Do I qualify? The basic qualifying conditions for Universal Credit are as follows: You or your partner have to be aged at least 18 and under State Pension Credit qualifying age (see below) and You must not be in full-time education (see below) and Not be subject to immigration control (see below) and Have accepted a claimant commitment (see below) State Pension Credit qualifying age The current position If you or your partner have reached State Pension Credit qualifying age, you will need to claim Pension Credit instead of Universal Credit, and will generally be better off financially by doing so. To check your State Pension Credit age see https://www.gov.uk/state-pension- age/y. To claim State Pension Credit, go to https://www.gov.uk/pension-credit. If you are also liable for rent, you can claim Housing Benefit from your local authority. The position from 15 May 2019 On 14th January 2019 the government announced that from 15 May 2019 mixed age couples, where one has reached state pension age and the other is of working age, will be unable to claim pension credit but will have to claim Universal Credit or legacy benefits if they are still available in your area (legacy benefits including jobseeker’s allowance, housing benefit and tax credits). Those who are already receiving pension credits or pension-age housing benefit will continue to do so while they remain entitled to either benefit. Full time education This generally means a non-advanced education course of 12 hours or more if you started it before you were 19 (e.g. A levels) or on a full-time advanced course which means above the level of A level or advanced GNVQs. Immigration Control You are subject to immigration control if you are not a European Economic Area (EEA) national and you require leave to enter or remain in the UK or you have been given leave but subject to the condition not to have recourse to public funds. You also need to be ‘habitually resident’ in the ‘common travel area’ which is the UK, Channel Islands, the Isle of Man and Republic of Ireland – if you are self-employed and resident in that area you should satisfy that requirement but if you are refused Universal Credit due to not being ‘habitually resident’, please contact us for further advice. 2018-19 2 Claimant Commitment The claimant commitment is a record of your responsibilities while you are claiming benefit. It includes the work-related requirements you must meet in order to continue to receive UC. Work-related requirements includes things like going to interviews about possible work with the DWP, work preparation, actual work searching and being available for work (see below). How you are paid Universal Credit is assessed over a monthly ‘assessment period’. The assessment period is one calendar month beginning with the first date of entitlement to Universal Credit e.g. 14th January to 13th February. Because UC bases awards on your monthly income there may be a delay of at least five weeks before you get your first payment. This is because UC is not paid for the first 7 days for most claims, and it is also paid a month in arrears. You can request an ‘advance payment’ of UC if this is going to cause you financial hardship or other problems e.g. rent arrears. It is advisable to do this as soon as possible during the first assessment period, because if you delay until within three days of the end of the assessment period, you may not be able to get an advance unless you have transferred to UC from another benefit. To claim an advance payment of UC, call the UC helpline on 0800 328 5644. The maximum you can claim as an advance is 100% of the estimated UC payment. This amount is repayable over a maximum period of twelve months. The repayment rate is limited to 15% of your ‘standard allowance’ (see below) or 25% if you have earnings. How is a Universal Credit award calculated? Awards are worked out by firstly looking at the maximum you could claim which is made up of the ‘standard allowance’ and then adding any elements that apply e.g. if you have a child, you will get a child element or if you rent you will get a housing costs element. There are also elements that cover childcare costs, disability and being a carer. Once you have worked out the maximum allowance, you add up any earnings during the relevant assessment period (which with Universal Credit is always a period of one month – see below) and then, if you are self-employed, deduct from this what are called ‘permitted expenses’ which are similar but not exactly the same as those allowable for tax purposes (permitted expenses are explained further below). If you are allowed a ‘work allowance’ that can be deducted from your net earnings figure. A work allowance can apply when you or your partner are responsible for a child or have limited capability for work due to a disability. You then look at any other income received in the assessment period and add that up and then your net earnings and other income figure is deducted from the maximum UC amount. Only 63% of the net earnings figure (after any work allowance deduction) is deducted – this is known as the ‘taper’. 2018-19 3 A simple example – an employed (PAYE) worker Claiming UC as an employed PAYE worker is usually more straightforward than if you are self-employed. In this example, Jenny is a part-time teacher aged 35 with net PAYE earnings of £950 per month. She lives on her own and rents a flat for £600 per month. Her maximum award would be calculated as follows: Standard Allowance (single claimant aged 25 or over) £ 317.82 Housing Costs element £ 600.00 Maximum UC award £ 917.82 Less 63% of earnings £ 617.50 UC award £ 300.32 If Jenny were to lose her job and not receive any earnings, her UC award would look like this: Standard Allowance (single claimant aged 25 or over) £ 317.82 Housing Costs element £ 600.00 Maximum UC award £ 917.82 Less 63% of earnings £ N/A UC award £ 917.82 Claiming Universal Credit You claim Universal Credit online at www.gov./apply-universal-credit. During the claiming process you are asked a number of questions about your age, residence status, household, housing costs, etc. If you need help with claiming online you can phone the Universal Credit helpline on 0800 328 5644. Self-employment claims As part of the UC claiming process, you will be asked about your employment status - whether you undertake employment work, self-employment work or both. Most entertainers work on a self-employment basis. Gainful Self-Employment (GSE) If you are usually self-employed, the DWP apply a test to see whether you are ‘gainfully self- employed.’ You are gainfully self-employed if the following applies (regulation 64, UC regs 2013): 2018-19 4 1. Your self-employment trade, profession or vocation is your main employment; 2. Your earnings from your trade, profession or vocation are self-employed earnings; and 3. Your self-employment is organised, developed, and regular and carried on in expectation of profit. All three conditions must be satisfied in order for a determination of GSE to be made.
Recommended publications
  • The Conservative Goverments' Record on Social Security: Policies
    The Conservative Goverments’ Record on Social Security: Policies, Spending and Outcomes, May 2015 to pre-COVID 2020 Kerris Cooper and John Hills SPDO research paper 10 February 2021 SPDO research paper nn DRAFT May 2020 NOT FOR QUOTATION Acknowledgements The project has been funded by the Nuffield Foundation and the authors would like to thank the Foundation and our advisory board as well as the many people who provided comments on an earlier draft of this paper, including Fran Bennett, Howard Glennerster, Tania Burchardt, Abigail McKnight, Tom Sefton, Kitty Stewart, Nicola Lacey, Kate Summers, Ilona Pinter and Polly Vizard as well as the participants in a seminar on the findings in March 2020. We would like to thank Peter Matejic and Donna Ward for reviewing the paper. We are very grateful to Karl Handscomb at the Resolution Foundation for modelling assistance with trends in hypothetical in-work incomes and reviewing analysis based on this. We would also like to thank Shelter for sharing unpublished analysis, as well as the Joseph Rowntree Foundation for providing data on in- work poverty and the Households Below Average Incomes (HBAI) team for providing data on poverty by ethnicity. We are thankful to the Resolution Foundation, Institute for Fiscal Studies and the Joseph Rowntree Foundation for sharing charts and underlying figures to reproduce in this paper. We are also grateful to Nora Takacs and Iona Wainwright for their administrative assistance in preparing the paper. The authors remain responsible for the final content. The Nuffield Foundation is an endowed charitable trust that aims to improve social well-being in the widest sense.
    [Show full text]
  • Personal Independence Payment: Factsheet for People Living with HIV
    National AIDS Trust, PIP, August 2015 Personal Independence Payment: Factsheet for People Living with HIV Summary Personal Independence Payment – or PIP for short - is a benefit which is designed to help people with disabilities and long-term health conditions lead independent and active lives. PIP is there to meet the extra costs of living with a disability or long-term health condition, whether or not someone is currently working. It is not an income-replacement benefit. PIP will be replacing another benefit, called Disability Living Allowance (DLA). Anyone who currently gets DLA will eventually have to be assessed for PIP, if they still need help with extra costs. (See the final page of this factsheet for more information on this). What PIP is and isn’t PIP is paid to anyone who is found to meet the assessment criteria (see below for details). PIP is available to people who are in work, as well as those who are not in work. PIP isn’t means-tested. This means that if you meet the PIP eligibility criteria it doesn’t matter if you have other benefits, income or savings – you can still claim the benefit. PIP isn’t taxed. PIP isn’t included in the Benefit Cap1 – and if you get PIP, you are exempt from the Benefit Cap. PIP isn’t included in Universal Credit2 – it is a separate payment. Rates of support PIP has two components: PIP rates - weekly payments • Mobility component – for help with getting around Mobility Standard Rate = £21.80 • Daily living component – for help doing everyday activities Mobility Enhanced Rate = £57.45 Someone may be eligible for one or both components.
    [Show full text]
  • Universal Credit and Crime
    DISCUSSION PAPER SERIES IZA DP No. 13484 Universal Credit and Crime Rocco d’Este Alex Harvey JULY 2020 DISCUSSION PAPER SERIES IZA DP No. 13484 Universal Credit and Crime Rocco d’Este University of Sussex and IZA Alex Harvey University of Sussex JULY 2020 Any opinions expressed in this paper are those of the author(s) and not those of IZA. Research published in this series may include views on policy, but IZA takes no institutional policy positions. The IZA research network is committed to the IZA Guiding Principles of Research Integrity. The IZA Institute of Labor Economics is an independent economic research institute that conducts research in labor economics and offers evidence-based policy advice on labor market issues. Supported by the Deutsche Post Foundation, IZA runs the world’s largest network of economists, whose research aims to provide answers to the global labor market challenges of our time. Our key objective is to build bridges between academic research, policymakers and society. IZA Discussion Papers often represent preliminary work and are circulated to encourage discussion. Citation of such a paper should account for its provisional character. A revised version may be available directly from the author. ISSN: 2365-9793 IZA – Institute of Labor Economics Schaumburg-Lippe-Straße 5–9 Phone: +49-228-3894-0 53113 Bonn, Germany Email: [email protected] www.iza.org IZA DP No. 13484 JULY 2020 ABSTRACT Universal Credit and Crime* We evaluate the criminogenic effects of Universal Credit (UC), a monumental welfare reform designed to radically change the social security payment system in the United Kingdom.
    [Show full text]
  • FINANCE Exchequer Services SUBJECT MATTER: UNIVERSAL
    EXECUTIVE DECISION NOTICE SERVICE AREA: FINANCE Exchequer Services SUBJECT MATTER: UNIVERSAL CREDIT DELIVERY PARTNERSHIP AGREEMENT - 28 OCTOBER 2013 TO 31 MARCH 2014 DECISION: To authorise the Council to enter into a second Delivery Partnership Agreement with the Department of Work and Pensions and to continue as a Pathfinder Authority to test the implementation of Universal Credit on a specified category of claimants from 28 October 2013 to 29th March 2014, as detailed in Appendix One of this report. DECISION TAKER(S): .. Councillor Jim Fitzpatrick DESIGNATION OF DECISION First Deputy (Finance and Performance) TAKER(S): DATE OF DECISION: 17 October 2013 REASON FOR DECISION: The Council and the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) are now in a position to extend the activities currently undertaken as a Pathfinder authority. The Delivery Partnership Agreement (DPA) provides the mechanism to approve the activities to be undertaken as a Pathfinder from 28 October 2013 to 29 March 2014. The DPA protects the Council's position by outlining the expected tasks and funding arrangements to be undertaken by local authority staff during the second Pathfinder period and termination of the Agreement should it be necessary. ALTERNATIVE OPTIONS Universal Credit is a new central Government Policy. REJECTED (if any): Pathfinder is the mechanism by which Universal Credit will be tested ahead of national roll-out. We could have chosen not to be Pathfinder authority however we would not have had the opportunity to influence the process and prepare claimants and stakeholders for this major policy change. CONSUL TEES: None FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS: There are no additional direct financial implications from this report.
    [Show full text]
  • Universal Credit – Experimental Official Statistics to February 2014
    Universal Credit – experimental official statistics to February 2014 Published: 14th May 2014 Introduction Frequency: Monthly Universal Credit is a new benefit that has started to replace six existing benefits and tax Coverage: Great Britain credits with a single monthly payment. Universal Credit will eventually replace: Theme: People and Places Income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance Income-related Employment and Support Allowance Income Support Working Tax Credit Child Tax Credit Housing Benefit The main differences between Universal Credit and the current welfare system are: Universal Credit is available to people who are in work and on a low income, as Issued by: well as to those who are out-of-work Information, Governance and most people will apply online and manage their claim through an online account Security Directorate Universal Credit will be responsive – as people on low incomes move in and out Department for Work and of work, they’ll get ongoing support Pensions most claimants on low incomes will still be paid Universal Credit when they first start a new job or increase their part-time hours Telephone: claimants will receive a single monthly household payment, paid into a bank Press Office: 0203 267 5129 Out of hours: 0203 267 5144 account in the same way as a monthly salary support with housing costs will usually go direct to the claimant as part of their Website: monthly payment www.gov.uk Universal Credit was launched as a Pathfinder in areas of the North West commencing Twitter in April 2013. The four initial Pathfinder offices were Ashton-under-Lyne, Oldham, www.twitter.com/dwppressoffice Warrington, and Wigan.
    [Show full text]
  • Universal Credit, ‘
    bs_bs_banner LEGISLATION Universal Credit, ‘Positive Citizenship’, and the Working Poor: Squaring the Eternal Circle? Philip M. Larkin∗ This article examines the potential effects of the Welfare Reform Act 2012 on the United Kingdom social security system, and on claimants. This legislation illustrates new modes of thought and ideology underlying the British welfare state. The introduction of the ‘Universal Credit’ has the potential to solve the ‘poverty trap’, where claimants are better off in receipt of welfare benefits rather than engaging with employment, and may assist low-paid individuals into ‘positive’ citizenship. However, the practicalities of implementing Universal Credit might undermine legislators’ ambitions. It may be that the Act attempts too much reform to the social security system, trying to impose legislative uniformity on a highly complex set of socio-economic circumstances which may be impervious to such rationalisation. This could result in the scheme requiring further reform, or even abolition. The ideological and historical underpinnings of Universal Credit are also examined to understand more clearly its nature and structure. INTRODUCTION The Welfare Reform Act (WRA) 2012 aims to effect significant changes to the social security system in the United Kingdom, building upon existing welfare reform programmes. Specifically, the introduction of the much vaunted (and somewhat misleadingly-titled) ‘Universal Credit’ (UC), with which this article is largely concerned,1 will reduce the number of benefits in the welfare system, ostensibly simplifying some of its more complicated aspects. Due to the highly technical nature of Universal Credit administration, it has been piloted in a number of regions around the UK, with the original aim of having the scheme fully operational by the end of 2017.2 However, the emerging ∗Lecturer, Brunel Law School London.
    [Show full text]
  • Carers UK Briefing on Housing Benefit Size Criteria Rules the Bedroom Tax
    Policy Briefing Housing Benefit size criteria rules: the ‘bedroom tax’ January 2013 Summary Housing Benefit is changing and a restriction is being introduced on the number of rooms in a socially rented home which will be covered by Housing Benefit. The new size criteria could have a major impact on certain groups of carers and some families may be unable to cover the shortfall putting them at risk of having to move. Carers UK is particularly concerned that couples where one person is disabled, only one bedroom will be allowed under Housing Benefit rules. This means that a couple who need an extra bedroom for equipment or are unable to sleep in the same room, not be given enough Housing Benefit to cover the extra rent costs of having this room to retain this room. Many homes have been specially adapted, often at a considerable financial cost to local authorities or families themselves. If these families are forced to move, this would be not only distressing for families and disruptive to care arrangements but could risk a greater long-term cost as adaptations need to be replaced in new homes. This note summarises the new rules and looks ahead to further changes on the introduction of Universal Credit later next year. Size criteria rules: what are they? The size criteria rules, have restricted Housing Benefit for private sector tenants for some years. From 1 April 2013 they will also be applied to social sector tenants (people with housing association or local council tenancies for instance). This is commonly referred to as the ‘Bedroom Tax’.
    [Show full text]
  • Impact of Universal Credit on Claimants Table of Contents Debate on 16 November 2017 1
    Impact of Universal Credit on Claimants Table of Contents Debate on 16 November 2017 1. Introduction 2. Universal Credit: Key Summary Features 3. Implementation of On 16 November 2017, the House of Lords is due to debate a motion, moved Universal Credit by Baroness Hollis of Heigham (Labour), that “this House takes note of the 4. Impact of Universal Credit impact of Universal Credit on claimants”. The Government is currently rolling out Universal Credit (UC). UC is a significant reform of the way in which social security payments are delivered. It is intended to replace the following forms of welfare with one single payment: working tax credit; child tax credit; income based jobseeker’s allowance; income support; income related employment and support allowance; and housing benefits. The timetable for the roll-out of UC has undergone a series of changes. The Coalition Government had originally intended to complete the roll-out of UC to all claimants by 2017–18. However, difficulties with the system were identified during the process of establishing pilot schemes in 2013. The handling of this initial roll-out was subsequently criticised by the National Audit Office. As a result, the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) changed its implementation plans, instead rolling out UC on a limited basis, primarily targeting claimants of jobseeker’s allowance. The roll-out of the final version of UC to individual jobcentres began in 2016, at a rate of five jobcentres per month. The Government intends to complete the process by 2022. The Government has argued that UC has so far been successful, pointing to an assessment that showed UC claimants are 3 percent more likely to go into employment than jobseeker’s allowance claimants.
    [Show full text]
  • Get Help from Personal Independence Payment (Easy Read)
    Get help from Personal Independence Payment Easy Read Our reference: PIP1ER 04/20 Contents Introduction 1 Page 4 Getting help from Personal Independence 2 Payment Page 8 What we mean by daily activities 3 Page 10 Claiming Personal Independence Payment when you have a terminal 4 illness Page 13 Page 2 Contents Other types of support 5 Page 14 Page 3 1 Introduction Personal Independence Payment is a benefit from the Department for Work and Pensions. It helps with some of the extra costs you have to pay when you have long term ill health or a disability. Personal Independence Payment is sometimes known as PIP. Page 4 This leaflet is an introduction to Personal Independence Payment. For more Easy Read leaflets, go to www.gov.uk Search for Easy Read Personal Independence Payment. Who can claim Personal Independence Payment You must be 16 years old or over to claim Personal Independence Payment. You cannot claim Personal Independence Payment if you have reached retirement age. You can claim other benefits when you get Personal Independence Payment. Page 5 You can still claim Personal Independence Payment if: • You are in work or out of work • You have money saved in the bank • You are in training or education (like school or college). How much money you get depends on how your health condition stops you doing daily activities. A health condition is an illness or problem that can affect your health. Page 6 A health condition can affect your mind or feelings. We call this a mental health condition. A health condition can affect your body.
    [Show full text]
  • Factsheet – Universal Credit – the Essentials
    Information for parents ENGLAND | SCOTLAND WALES | NORTHERN IRELAND UNIVERSAL CREDIT – THE ESSENTIALS Universal Credit is a new benefit for people aged between 16 and pension credit qualifying age. It can be paid to people who are out of work and to those who are in employment. It is replacing most of the existing means- tested benefits for people of working age with a single monthly payment. It is administered by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) and most people are expected to claim it online. WHICH BENEFITS ARE BEING REPLACED BY UNIVERSAL CREDIT? Universal credit has replaced new claims for the following benefits: • Income Support • income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance • income-related Employment and Support Allowance • Child Tax Credit • Working Tax Credit • Housing Benefit (except for those in some types of supported accommodation). WHAT AGE MUST I BE TO MAKE A CLAIM? These are known as the ‘legacy benefits’. Other benefits Usually Universal Credit claimants have to be aged at such as Carer’s Allowance, Child Benefit, Disability least 18, but special rules allow some 16/17 year olds to Living Allowance (DLA), Personal Independence claim, including many disabled 16/17 year olds. Most Payment (PIP), and Council Tax Reduction will remain people in full-time education cannot claim Universal and can be paid alongside Universal Credit. Credit unless they have a dependent child. However, disabled students can claim if they get Disability Living WHO CAN CLAIM UNIVERSAL CREDIT? Allowance (DLA) or Personal Independence Payment (PIP) and are also assessed as unfit to work. Most people of working age can claim Universal Credit.
    [Show full text]
  • Give and Take: How Conservatives Think About Welfare
    How conservatives think about w elfare Ryan Shorthouse and David Kirkby GIVE AND TAKE How conservatives think about welfare Ryan Shorthouse and David Kirkby The moral right of the authors has been asserted. All rights reserved. Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise), without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the publisher of this book. Bright Blue is an independent think tank and pressure group for liberal conservatism. Bright Blue takes complete responsibility for the views expressed in this publication, and these do not necessarily reflect the views of the sponsors. Director: Ryan Shorthouse Chair: Matthew d’Ancona Members of the board: Diane Banks, Philip Clarke, Alexandra Jezeph, Rachel Johnson First published in Great Britain in 2014 by Bright Blue Campaign ISBN: 978-1-911128-02-1 www.brightblue.org.uk Copyright © Bright Blue Campaign, 2014 Contents About the authors 4 Acknowledgements 5 Executive summary 6 1 Introduction 19 2 Methodology 29 3 How conservatives think about benefit claimants 34 4 How conservatives think about the purpose of welfare 53 5 How conservatives think about the sources of welfare 66 6 Variation amongst conservatives 81 7 Policies to improve the welfare system 96 Annex one: Roundtable attendee list 112 Annex two: Polling questions 113 Annex three: Questions and metrics used for social and economic conservative classification 121 About the authors Ryan Shorthouse Ryan is the Founder and Director of Bright Blue.
    [Show full text]
  • Universal Credit April 2021
    WELFARE RIGHTS UNIT UNIVERSAL CREDIT From April 2021 WHAT IS UNIVERSAL CREDIT? Universal Credit, is a single payment, which has replaced a number of working age benefits. These benefits are: Income Support Income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance Income-related Employment and Support Allowance Housing Benefit Child Tax Credit Working Tax Credit National Insurance benefits, e.g. Statutory Sick Pay, Statutory Maternity Pay, Contributory Employment and Support Allowance, etc, will continue to be paid. Council Tax Benefit has been replaced by a local scheme called Council Tax Support. Universal Credit is a means-tested benefit paid to people over 18 and under pension age, or if they are a couple at least one of them is under pension age. However, some 16 year olds may be able to claim, i.e. if they are a lone parent, or without parental support. If one of a couple is over pension age and the other is not, they will not be able to claim Pension Credit, but will have to claim Universal Credit. Who can claim Universal Credit can be claimed by: Single people and couples on a low income People in and out of work People with and without children People who are unable to work due to sickness or disability Carers People not in education (although some people in education can claim) People with capital of £16,000 or less Claimants need to meet the residence conditions. 1 Amount of Universal Credit Universal Credit is made up of a standard allowance plus potentially five elements (see Appendix), depending upon the claimant’s circumstances.
    [Show full text]