Universal Credit

Welcome 🙂 to our updated and renewed pages about Universal Credit (UC) . These were  first posted in late 2024 and last updated in September 2025. There are four Parts – each with their own sub-page – as listed below 

A lot of questions have come from people who d avoided all the UC excitement and stayed with their legacy benefits but are facing the need to claim UC instead by March 2026.  They will have particular questions about hoew UC differs from the benefits they have been used to. And that is what Part B: Moving to UC is all about.

But we have also had lots of questions from people who are just going straight to UC  or who are already claiming UC

The other Parts (Part A: An Introduction to UC, , Part C: How does UC work and How do I claim it and Part D: Further Questions about UC) are for everybody claiming UC, whether they are coming over from legacy benefits or not. 

UC is a big change to get used to

By April 2026, UC will have fully replaced the six “legacy benefits”  which will then be abolished.  These six benefits are: Income-related ESA. Income Support, Income-based JSA, Child Tax Credit, Working Tax Credit and Housing Benefit. All other benefits (such as Contributory ESA or Personal Independence Payment just carry on as before. 

UC works in a very new way to other benefits (whether legacy or not). UC wants to be all shiny new, be more online and to be “more like being in work” . UC can be quite fixed in it’s thinking; or rather in that of the UC computer. When the computer says “No!” it can be hard for both claimants and UC staff to work around it.

UC  is a big change which can be unsettling, especially if it’s been a long time since you have had much contact with the DWP.  But for many people, once they get used to UC’s different ways, they actually prefer them to those of other benefits :-). But for others it can be a more unsettling challenge and a bit of a journey into the unfamiliar. Sometimes UC’s odd mix of some very fixed ways in the basic system but a lot of discretion given to UC work coaches and Decion Makers can make it harder to apply sense, be certain or challenge UC decisions.  

If you are needing to swap to UC, this may dredge up all the worries, fears and anxieties from any past migrations you have already been through. There are some added worries, fears and misunderstandings about UC, that can all add to the trepidation.

Or you may just be coming entirely new to a means tested benefits claim and happen to be starting off with UC. Or you may even be claiming UC already. But you may still be feeling a bit bewitched, bothered and bewildered – or even sanctioned by – UC. 

We hope that the information on these pages will help clear up problems that you may not need to worry about and help you through the issues that you will face.

Concerns from people living with mental distress

We have based a lot of the information on these pages around questions from people living with mental distress who are members of Recovery In the Bin .

In some separate work with them:

  • the group worked together to facilitate all RITB members to be able to express their questions, worries and concerns about UC .
  • Then I had a go at answering these with some initial thoughts and a set of slides and back up notes (which are the basis of these webpages) . We also planned a video of me presenting the slides.
  • The aim was to come up with a range of ways of sharing the information and tin particular to respond to the concerns of people living with mental health issues.  

Answers to Frequently Asked Questions about UC 

We have grouped the FAQs questions into four parts, which will each be on their own page:

  • Part A: Background to UC – useful to everyone claiming UC answering questions like: What is UC?  When is UC? Why are they doing it? How does UC affect my benefits?
  • Part B: Moving over to UC  –  This answers frequentl asked questions from people moving over from legacy benefits to UC (which should all be completed by March 2026. Part B looks at questions such as: How does migration to UC work? When do I have to move to UC? How does UC look at unwellness and being too sick for work? Will I have to have a new health assessment on UC? What about amounts for disability? How is UC different from the benefits that I am used to? Will I get more or less money under UC? What is “transitional protection”?
  • Part C: How UC works and how to claim UC:  – This part is for everybody claiming UC. Whether you are ‘migrating’ to UC from the legacy benefits or not, the practicalities of making a UC claim are the same. We have now split a “too long” Part C into two. So Part C  deals with the general questions, such as:  How do I claim UC? What help is there to make a UC claim? Do I have to claim UC online? What information will I need? How do I prove my ID? Do I have to have an interview at JobCentre Plus? How do I keep in touch with DWP? Do I have to look for work on UC? How much UC will I get? How is it paid?
  • Part D: Further information about UC: –  Part D is home to frequently asked questions about specific areas of UC, such as: : How does UC deal with sickness and disability? How about prescription charges in England? How does UC work if I try work? What about help with rent and council tax? 

If you click on the headings above – e.g Part A: Background to UC – you should then link to a separate webpage for that Part .

Finding out more: Links and Resources

You can access other free resources on this website and find links to other useful sites at the bottom of Part A (at Question 7: Finding out more about UC)