Summer support for students: review

Benefit Interaction & Entitlement

1. Applying for benefits

• Students in the workshops reported issues with transitioning from their student support payments to benefits/Universal Credit payments over the summer.
• Students are required to apply for Universal Credit on the last day of their course and the average timescale for a Universal Credit application is six weeks, which means a delay in receiving their first payment and a larger gap between their final student support payment and first benefit payment.

2. Information Available

• Student participants reported that when looking to apply for benefits over the summer there was a lack of awareness as to what they were eligible to apply for.
• In terms of benefit support for students, most students suggested that it would be helpful to have advisers or welfare rights officers at colleges and universities who have specialised knowledge in this area.
• In general, students reported that they feel that there is a lack of information and guidance available in this area.