Making a claim and budgeting
City of Lincoln Council and North Kesteven District Council have a dedicated team to assist you with digital and budgeting requirements for Universal Credit.
The team can offer support in the following ways:
Providing Assisted Digital Support (ADS) for anyone wishing to make a claim by:
- Supporting you to transact with Universal Credit using a personal computer or your own specific device
- Ensuring you keep log-in credentials safe
- Setting up a personal email address if you don’t already have one
- Ensuring that you are able to access your email account to retrieve the email code
- Ensuring that you are aware of the details needed to have to hand to safely complete your identity verification and claim Universal Credit
- Ensuring that you understand how to access the ‘partner code’ and the requirement for your partner to complete their online claim using the partner code
- Applying for Council Tax Support.
Helping anyone maintain their Universal Credit claim by providing assistance in:
- Managing your claim via the online Universal Credit account on whatever device you have access to
- Managing your own email account on whatever device you have access to
- Navigating the platform and clearing your personal ‘To do’ list
- Making journal entries
- Recovering passwords
- Uploading documents including your CV and medical certificates
- Notifying a change of circumstances
- Making enquiries
- Printing documents.
Providing Personal Budgeting Support (PBS) to anyone by:
- Supporting you to manage your monthly payments and prioritise essential bills such as rent
- Applying for Discretionary Housing Payments
- Income and Expenditure calculations
- Supporting you, if you require personal budgeting assistance to manage your Universal Credit. The support to be offered includes:
- Identifying the appropriate channel and provider to deliver personal budgeting support and referring you to the right place immediately
- Providing, or arranging, telephone or face to face personal budgeting support and follow up action as appropriate
- Referring if you need an alternative payment arrangement to Jobcentre Plus
- Referring you to Welfare Advice for other support services such as debt advice.
Resulting in you being able to:
- Understand your Universal Credit award and what you can claim as well as entitlement to other benefits or grants
- Work out monthly income and outgoings
- Recognise priority bills, such as rent
- Identify and cut back on non-essentials
- Complete and maintain a budgeting plan
- Convert from a Post Office card accounts/Simple payments to more appropriate banking products, including a transactional bank account
- Set up or re-organise direct debits for prioritised payments.
If you need help applying for Universal Credit please contact our Universal Credit Support Team.