Universal credit and kinship carers – Update from CPAG
In recent years, universal credit has been gradually replacing a range of means-tested benefits for working-age claimants. The benefits that are replaced by universal credit are usually referred to as ‘legacy benefits’ and are tax credits, income support, income-related employment and support allowance, income-based jobseeker’s allowance and housing benefit. People who have still been getting legacy benefits have been going through a transfer process called ‘managed migration’.
Managed migration has impacted on lots of kinship carers, with many already having made the move to universal credit. In light of this, it is important to focus on a few of the main rules in universal credit that are particularly important for kinship carers.
The child element in universal credit
The child element is part of universal credit. Kinship carers of looked after children do not normally get this. Instead, the local authority should be supporting them. Kinship carer of non-looked after children should get the child element, providing the child is their responsibility.
Impact on local authority kinship care allowances
Where a kinship carer gets a kinship care allowance from the local authority, the local authority generally deducts the child element of UC from that allowance if the kinship carer gets it. Local authorities should be aware that kinship carers of looked after children are very unlikely to be getting the child element.
‘Conditionality’ in universal credit
Some people have to look for work as a condition of getting universal credit, others do not. For some people, it is somewhere in between – for example, they may have to prepare for work but not actually seek employment. ‘Conditionality’ is the term that is used to describe this. There are some special conditionality rules for kinship carers.
If a kinship carer is the main carer of a looked after child aged under one, they have no work-related requirements. If the child has reached one but under 16, they are subject to work-focused interviews only. This can extend beyond the child’s 16th birthday in some situations.
If a kinship carer is the main carer of a non-looked after child under one, they have no work-related requirements. If the child is one or over, they may have limited conditionality (work-focused interview only) for the first year after the child comes to live with them. After that there are no special rules.
