Guidance

Prison leavers: an overview of Universal Credit

Updated 24 October 2024

This guide takes you through the basics of how to make and manage a claim to Universal Credit as well as activities you can do prior to your release date. It doesn’t cover everything so please talk to the prison work coach or resettlement team if you have further questions.

1. About Universal Credit

Universal Credit is replacing:

• Child Tax Credit
• Housing Benefit
• Income Support
• Income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA)
• Income-related Employment and Support Allowance (ESA)
• Working Tax Credit

Universal Credit is usually paid monthly. Your Universal Credit payment is made up of a standard allowance and any extra amounts that apply to you, for example if you:

• have children
• have a disability or health condition
• need help paying your housing costs

Universal Credit does not include help to pay for Council Tax. If you have your own tenancy you will need to claim this separately; phone your work coach for more information.

If you live in Scotland or Northern Ireland you will not have access to a resettlement team. You should make your claim as soon as possible after your release.

2. Pre release activity

1. Meet with staff from resettlement team to discuss housing, finance, benefits and education.

2. At around 12 weeks you will be invited to see the prison work coach to discuss employment, housing, training and benefits and more.

3. The week before release. The prison work coach will help you prepare your claim and will book your interview at the jobcentre.

2.1 Pre release tips

1. Attend any appointments and be open about any concerns or issues you have about your release.

2. You will have at least one appointment with the resettlement team but you can have more should you need it. Speak to the resettlement team to arrange this.

3. To claim Universal Credit on release you will need identification and a bank account. The resettlement team can help with this.

4. If you were working prior to your sentence and you have a short term sentence the prison work coach can try and help you keep your job. Speak to your prison work coach for more information.

5. If you rented a house before being sent to prison and your sentence is less than 6 months you may still qualify for help with your housing. Speak to your prison work coach for more information.

If you need quick access to funds speak to the work coach in the jobcentre about claiming an advance.

Not fit for work? Speak to your prison work coach about any health issues that may prevent you from working.

3. Prison work coach role

If you have access to a prison work coach you can arrange to see them at anytime during your sentence. You should see them as soon as possible if you had a tenancy prior to being sentenced and were responsible for paying the rent.

They can check if your housing can still be paid if you are detained for 6 months or less.

They can also help you to prepare your benefit claim prior to release by:

• checking which benefits you may qualify for
• checking that you have the necessary ID and bank account and evidence to support their claim
• booking an initial appointment at the nearest jobcentre to where you will be living and letting you know what to expect at the interview

4. What I can expect at the Jobcentre

Your actions	Jobcentre actions
I make a claim to Universal Credit online as soon as possible. I can do this by going to the Jobcentre before my appointment to use their computers. I arrange to go into the jobcentre about an hour before my Initial Evidence to make my claim to Universal Credit.	Jobcentre staff can help you to make your Universal Credit claim.
I attend my ‘Initial Evidence Interview’, the prison work coach helped me to gather the information needed to prove my identity before I was released. I attend my ‘New Claim Interview’ and agree my Claimant Commitment. I’m clear and honest about my situation and the difficulties I’m facing and get the help and advice I need.	At the new claim interview the work coach talks to you about your circumstances and responsibilities and drafts a Claimant Commitment (an agreement which sets out your responsibilities) that reflects your personal circumstances. They tell you about the additional support available from the Help to Claim service once your Universal Credit claim is submitted. The Citizens Advice Help to Claim service offers tailored, practical support to help make a Universal Credit claim - up to receiving their first full correct payment.
I can get money by claiming an advance and know that budgeting advice is available too if I need it.	The work coach offers to arrange an advance payment and talks to you about money guidance and tells you about the support available including Money Manager.
I’m worried about getting paid monthly so I ask about getting payments more often. I ask my work coach what other support is available locally.	The work coach discusses budgeting with you and agrees to set up more frequent than monthly payments. The work coach will consider what other local support you may need.
I have changed my address so I report the change on my online account and ask my work coach about getting rent payments sent directly to my landlord.	Your monthly overall entitlement now includes housing costs and, after discussions, rent payments direct to the landlord are set up.
I’m ready to start looking and preparing for work. I know my work coach will help find me the right support or training.	The work coach helps you start to prepare for work by suggesting courses or other programmes which might help you. They also can help you take part in other work preparation activities like writing a CV.

5. Advances

You can ask for an advance payment of your Universal Credit if you are in financial need while you wait for your first payment. You can get an advance of up to 100% of your monthly Universal Credit entitlement.

Deductions are then taken from your future Universal Credit payments to repay your advance. The deduction won’t be more than 25% of the standard allowance of Universal Credit.

You must usually pay back the advance within:

• 24 months if you apply on or after 12 April 2021
• 12 months if you applied before 12 April 2021

You can ask for your repayments to be put on hold for up to 3 months if you can’t afford them. This is only allowed in exceptional circumstances.

To apply for a Universal Credit advance you can either:

• apply through your online account, speak to your Jobcentre Plus work coach, or
• call the Universal Credit helpline

6. Being open about your situation

We understand that it is sometimes difficult for you to talk to us about issues or challenges that you are experiencing, but your work coach is there to help you. It is really important that you tell your work coach about any issues you may have including homelessness, addictions or poor mental health.

The sooner the work coach knows, the sooner they can start giving you the support you need. Your Claimant Commitment sets out what you have agreed to do to prepare or look for work in return for receiving Universal Credit, so it can be tailored to take account of your circumstances.

The Claimant Commitment should be reviewed regularly.

Please speak to your work coach if at any point you are struggling with the activities in your Claimant Commitment or if your situation changes.

7. Ways of managing your claim

Because Universal Credit is an online system you will usually need to check your account to see if your work coach has set you actions to complete, these are called ‘to-dos’.

If you don’t have regular access to a computer, use a smartphone to check your Universal Credit account - Work coaches can help you do this.

8. Easements

In some circumstances your work coach can decide if the Claimant Commitment should be changed or temporarily switched off for a period of time. This is known as an easement.

Your work coach will decide whether this is needed based on your circumstances, for example if you are homeless or undergoing treatment for drug and alcohol abuse.