Benefits you could apply for
There are many kinds of benefits, and it can feel very confusing which ones apply to you.
Benefits are paid for a wide variety of reasons, but the idea behind all of them is that everyone who can work, should work.
There are some benefits paid to people who are too sick to work, or who have extra living costs because of an illness or disability. There are also other benefits relating to people with children, families or Older People.
The Government believe that the amount of benefits people are paid should be low enough to encourage people to find work, and to stop receiving or (“sign off”) benefits.
Many benefits require people to say they are looking for work, and require them to provide evidence of this. In those cases, if you say you do not want a job or you are not looking for a job, this can lead to your benefit being stopped (“being sanctioned”).
The JobCentrePlus staff are there to make sure that everyone understands the Government rules about benefits, and that people who break the rules are sanctioned.
Before you claim Benefits
The first thing to do is to gather accurate information on all the things in this list
- Details of any savings you have
- Details of any money you get (“income”) and any income your partner gets
- Details of any existing benefits and pensions (including anyone living with you)
- How much you currently pay for things each month (including rent, food, childcare payments)
- Your council tax bill
Once you have this information (or as much of this as you can find) you can then either
- go to the Citizens Advice Bureau
- use an online benefits calculator
to work out which benefits you should apply for, and how much you are likely to get.
Leeds Citizen’s Advice Bureau (CAB)
Citizens Advice Leeds
31 New York Street, Leeds LS2 7DT Monday to Friday 09:00 – 16:00
0113 223 4400
Chapeltown Citizen’s Advice
Chapeltown Citizens Advice
Willow House, New Roscoe Buildings, Cross Francis Street, Leeds LS7 4BZ
09:00 – 16:30 Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday
09:00 – 13:00 and 15:15 – 16:30 Wednesday
0113 223 4400
0113 262 9479
Benefits Calculators
Use one of the following to work out which benefits you should apply for, and how much you are likely to get.
