Care and support

Income support (IS) for those not in school or college

If you have officially left school or college (which couldn’t happen until after 29th June 2009 if you are 16), and are aged 16 or 17, you might be able to get income support or jobseeker's allowance. In order to get income support, you must have £16,000 or less in savings and be either not working or working for less than 16 hours a week) and you must be:

• pregnant, and there are 11 weeks or less before your baby is due or you can't work because of your pregnancy;
• a single parent/foster parent;
• unfit for work due to illness or disability (or you have an appeal about that waiting to be heard)– if your claim was made before October 27th 2008 (if made after that date – see ESA instead);
• looking after a child under 16 while his/her parent/guardian is temporarily away or ill;
• looking after a member of your family who is temporarily ill;
• getting carer's allowance;
• looking after a disabled person (this means someone who has applied for or got attendance allowance or either middle or higher rate care of disability living allowance);
• registered blind;
• a 'person from abroad' entitled to benefit under special 'urgent cases' rules;
• a refugee learning English (see below);
• required to attend court as a defendant or witness;
• a disabled worker.

If you are still in care or have left care since October 1st 2001 different rules apply – see later section.