DP has left. Advice on benefit entitlement please

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Hello everyone
I will try and give as much information as possible. I’ve had to ask my DP to leave as he is an alcoholic and I can’t cope anymore. I am currently a second year student midwife with 2 children aged 1 and 4.
I get a student loan and the new grant totalling £16k per year. However I cannot afford to live off that with high rent and needing to run a car for placements etc.
I have looked at universal credit but it says my entitlement is 0, is this right?
I really don’t want to drop out of uni with no job to go to when if I can make ends meet for 2 years we will be financially ok once I’ve graduated.
This is all new to me and I’m trying to get my ducks in a row.

Thank you if anyone is able to advise.

Are you claiming child benefits. You will get a reduction in council tax if you pay it. Can you move somewhere cheaper like keyworkers accommodation. Who will look after dc when youre working, does your Trust offer childcare. Is dp going to contribute towards the dc.

Thank you for the quick reply!
I have applied for the 25% council tax reduction.
I currently rent which is £625 per month and don’t have the up front costs to move anywhere cheaper.
I have been approved for the childcare grant through student finance and for night shifts or long shifts my children’s grand parents will help, thankfully they are very supportive.
DP was made redundant during lockdown which has triggered the drinking problems. He is sorting his own housing out but I’m not sure he will be in a position himself to pay child maintenance whilst he also finds his feet. He only earns £15k PA, which is why I went to uni to improve our financial circumstances.
I do get child benefit £150 per month which I use to top up my childcare fees.

Have you looked on the fundingclinic site. Its for student hcps. Would keyworkers accommodation be cheaper. What area are you in.

I haven’t heard of that website before so will check it out, thank you.
I’ve just looked at the key worker accommodation and the trust my uni is linked with isn’t covered by it - good idea though !

Forgot to add I’m in the north west

That’s a very low rent. Is the problem with UC that you’re a student?

Look at homehunt site for affordable renting.

If you are a full time student and the only adult in the house you will be able to claim full exemption from council tax. Also applies if living with other full time students.

You get a full exemption from council tax if you are a full time student and the only adult in the house

50% of my income goes on rent so I wouldn’t consider that a low rent.
Yes because I am a student they have said my award is 0.

Thank you i thought it was only the 25% discount

www.homehunt.co.uk/search-results

www.gov.uk/council-tax/discounts-for-full-time-students

Thank you for the links will sort out my council tax
I have searched house hunt nothing available yet but will keep an eye on it !

If you have been a full time student for the past 2 years and only other adult in your house was your partner working, you could have claimed 25% discount, as full time students are exempt from council tax. You need to provide your council proof that you are enrolled as a full time student and you won’t need to pay council tax. If you have student services at your uni they should be able to give you advice & ‘may’ have hardship funds, bursaries? You should check with them if you can.

www.yourhousinggroup.co.uk/find-a-home/homes-to-rent/affordable-housing/

this is just one scheme, get in touch with your housing dept at uni who can help.

I’ve been a full time student for 1 year I have just gone into my second year. I will speak to uni and see if there is any help available through them.
Thank you I have been a bit overwhelmed and unable to think straight.

Do get in touch with your uni, they will definitely be able to advise on any other funds that may be available to you.

Normally a full time student cannot claim UC but there are some exceptions, and being responsible for children is one of them: www.gov.uk/guidance/universal-credit-and-students
Where did you look? If you used an online calculator it may not give an accurate result as your situation is one of the exceptions. It may be worth contacting them direct. At any rate, student services at your uni should be able to guide you.

50% of your income doesn’t go on rent £16k a year plus £150 a month child benefit is £1483 so after rent you are left with £858 a month. That’s quite low so I would have thought you would be e tiled to a small amount of UC.

I spoke to someone on the phone and they said my student Loan income was too high (fair enough).
I will contact uni after the bank holiday thank you.

Also, you may be able to claim back 25% council tax from last year. Ask your uni for a letter to confirm you were a full time student for 2019/20 and submit this to your council asking how you can claim a refund. Student Services May be able to advise further or help you with this too.

Looking at UC two child elements and a single person only add up to £920 assuming you are 25+ so you may well not be entitled to any UC if your loan are grant are slightly over £16k.

Well it’s still a high rent when you’re on a low income.
Yes I assumed I would be entitled to some UC but they don’t count the 37.5 hours per week of placement as work unfortunately.
So I am just looking for advice on any other help I may get as I don’t want to quit uni when I have no job to go to and leave me and my children homeless.

You should be entitled to benefits over the universal credit. The calculators are not always nuanced enough to deal with student parents.

You should be entitled to the housing, child and individual elements of universal credit.

If you are in private accommodation, the housing element may not cover it all - they will have a cap on it and I think would have a set amount they pay for a two bed property in your area (even if you have more bedrooms, I think this is what they would say you and two small children are entitled to.)

They do take your loan into account but certain portions (special support element, which would be indicated in your letter if you have it, and parent learner allowance) are disregarded, and they also disregard another £110 per month (in 2019-20 anyway). They divide what is left by the number of months your course runs for in the year (is it year round for midwifery?) and subtract that from your monthly entitlement.

The childcare grant also does not affect it either. You can also earn a certain amount from work without reducing your UC. You may find that once on UC you fall into the bracket of being entitled to 15 hours free childcare for your one year old once they turn two.

Any eventual child maintenance payments should not count.

This is a good site and calculator which was absolutely accurate in 2019-20 www.uceplus.co.uk/student.html

Advisors do not always know all the information so if your entitlement is not what you expect, you should ask it to be reviewed by a decision maker and set out the calculations for what you think it should be and why.

Good luck! I’m a single parent medical student in the north. Maybe we’ll cross paths!

It would depend on what your local housing allowance is in your area which is the maximum rent they will pay towards.

It is worth applying to UC because there are parts of a student income which are exempt in calculations, you may have been misadvised on the phone.

I would also contact CAB because they will know the complex rules around student finance and UC.