11 February 2012
This information applies to England, Wales, and Scotland
This information is about help that you may be able to get towards health, education and legal costs if you are on a low income. You may also be able to get benefit to help with your living costs, your rent or other housing costs and your Council Tax.
For more information about the other benefits that you can claim, see Help for people on a low income – Income Support.
If you are on a low income, you may be able to get help with health costs, legal costs, court fees and school meals. This help may mean that the cost is reduced or you do not have to pay at all. Because you do not receive any money directly, this help is known as 'benefit in kind’.
If you are on Income Support, income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance or income-related Employment and Support Allowance, you will usually be able to get this kind of help without having to apply. If you are on a low income but not receiving one of these benefits, you may still qualify for some of this help.
Some people on low incomes can get healthy start vouchers which can be exchanged for free milk, fruit or vegetables.
You can get healthy start vouchers if you are at least ten weeks pregnant and you're getting:
If you are a member of the family of someone who is on these benefits, and you are pregnant you can also get healthy start vouchers. A member of the family in this case is an opposite sex partner, same-sex partner or dependent child of the person who is getting one of these benefits.
You can also get healthy start vouchers if you're under 18 and pregnant, regardless of how much income you or your family have coming in.
Any of your children who are under four are also entitled to healthy start vouchers if you're getting:
If your child is under one, you can get additional vouchers.
If you are an asylum seeker getting government asylum support, you cannot get healthy start vouchers, but if you are pregnant or have a child under three, you will get an extra payment for milk or infant formula.
To claim healthy start vouchers, you should fill in a claim form and have it approved by a healthcare professional – for example, a midwife. The form is in the leaflet Healthy Start, which you can get from your midwife or doctor or from the Healthy Start website at www.healthystart.nhs.uk.
If you think you are entitled to healthy start vouchers and don’t receive them, or you have any other problems with healthy start vouchers, you should consult an experienced adviser, for example, at a Citizens Advice Bureau. To search for details of your nearest CAB, including those that can give advice by email, click on nearest CAB.
Some people on low incomes are entitled to free vitamins. You can get free vitamins if you are at least ten weeks pregnant or have a child under four. You must also be getting Income Support, income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance or income-related Employment and Support Allowance. You would also qualify if you are on Child Tax Credit (and not entitled to Working Tax Credit) and your income is low enough.
Other kinds of help with NHS health costs which you may be able to get if you are on a low income include:
For more information about help with health costs, see Help with health costs.
If you get Income Support, income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance or income-related Employment and Support Allowance, your children will get a free midday meal while they are at school and below the age of 19. This will also apply to you if you get Child Tax Credit, you are not entitled to Working Tax Credit and you have income below a certain amount, or if you get the guarantee part of Pension Credit. However, in England, if you are getting Working Tax Credit for four weeks because you have stopped work or reduced your hours to less than 16 hours a week, you may still be able to get free school meals for your children. If you are an asylum seeker getting financial support, you are also entitled to free school meals for your children.
If you are aged 16 – 18, you are still at school and you get Income Support, income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance or income-related Employment and Support Allowance in your own right, you will get free school meals.
For more information about free school meals, see Help with school costs.
Some local education authorities will give help with the cost of school clothing for pupils whose families are on a low income. Applications should be made to the local education authority.
In Wales, children who are entitled to free school meals may get a school uniform grant.
For more information about help with school clothing, see Help with school costs.
If you're aged 16-18 and staying on at school or college, you may be able to get Education Maintenance Allowance. However, Education maintenance Allowance will be closed to new applicants in England from January 2011.
In England, for more information about Education Maintenance Allowance, see Financial help for students aged 16-19.
In Wales, for more information about Education Maintenance Allowance, see the website of Student Finance Wales at www.studentfinancewales.co.uk.
In Scotland, for more information about Education Maintenance Allowance, see Help with the costs of education for school pupils.
If you are on a low income and you need advice from a solicitor, you may qualify for legal aid under Legal Help. This is called legal advice and assistance in Scotland and the green form scheme in Northern Ireland.
For more information about Legal Help in England and Wales, see Help with legal costs.
For more information on the green form scheme in Northern Ireland, see Help with legal costs.
For more information about legal advice and assistance in Scotland, see Help with legal costs.
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