Income support
| The following written concept provides information on Incapacity Benefit and Severe Disablement Allowance. Please be advised that from 27 October 2008 Employment Support Allowance replaces Incapacity Benefit and Income Support paid on incapacity grounds for new customers. The following document will be updated as soon as more information on ESA is available from DWP. |
Income Support (IS) is intended to help people with low incomes, regardless of whether they are available for employment. People are entitled to IS if they are:
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aged 16 or over
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working, on average, under 16 hours a week (and/or with a partner working under 24 hours)
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not required to be available for full-time employment
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receiving insufficient income to meet prescribed needs
The main types of people who receive IS are lone parents, the long-term and short-term sick, people with disabilities, pensioners and other special groups. People who are studying may be entitled to IS if they are a lone parent, sick or disabled, or registered blind, or if they have certain other special circumstances, such as caring for a sick relative.
The amount of IS that a claimant receives depends mainly upon their age, whether they have a partner or children, whether they have special needs such as a disability or caring responsibilities, and whether they are liable for certain types of housing costs.
People who are sick and not receiving Statutory Sick Pay may receive Incapacity Benefit as well as IS.
Data on Jobseeker's Allowance claims are available from the Income Support Quarterly Statistical Enquiry (IS QSE) which is carried out by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP). The IS QSE is a five per cent sample of all IS claimants. Data from the IS QSE are published on the DWP website.
