Lack of Support for 16 - 18 Year Olds

A young person of 16/17 years of age is not entitled to receive the following help, unless they have a child of their own, or are disabled, or classed as 'legally homeless'.

Income Support:  our understanding is that a 16 or 17 year old is not entiled to receive Income Support, and they would lose any entitlement if they became employed as an apprentice.


"If you're over over 16 and unable to work because you're a lone parent, a parent who has to stay home and look after your children, registered as a disabled person, or you're responsible for the care of a relative who is disabled you may be eligible for Income Support. If you're a university student, on a training course or in full time education, you'll only be able to qualify under special circumstances. In this instance, any part-time work you take on may mean you lose your entitlement to Income Support" 
                                                          (Financial Help for Young People, Direct Gov Webiste)

Jobseekers Allowance:  generally for people over the age of 18 who are unemployed, not in education and looking for work.

Tax Credits: Under 25 years of age, a person is not entitled to receive Working Tax Credits to top up their income (unless they have a child of their own!)

“Your household is not entitled to
Working Tax Credit because of the following reasons: Claimant(s) who do not have children must work 30 hours per week or more and be aged 25 or over and are not disabled.”      
                             (HM Revenues & Customs, Online Tax Credit Calculator)

A young person under the age of 25 would not be entitled to Child Tax Credits unless they had a child.

Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit:  Our understanding of the current benefit system is that a person under the age of 18 in their own rented property (who is not disabled and does not have children of their own and is not 'legally homeless') will not be entitled to receive Housing Benefit to help with the cost of their rent as they will not have a ‘passport’ benefit such as Income Support or Employment Support Allowance.

As demonstrated above, a British young person under the age of 18 is not entitled to much help unless they have a child of their own (not exactly helping the problem of teenage pregnancies!)

Therefore, the young 16-18 year old doing an apprenticeship, has little choice but to stay at home with their parents (if they are lucky enough to have a family home) BUT, what the parents are not told is that they will lose their entitlement to Child Benefit payments because their child is over 16 and ‘employed’ (albeit on a low apprentice wage).     
 
"If you're under 18, or if you're a student, it's unlikely you will be entitled to the allowance. If you're 16 or 17, you will only be able to receive Jobseeker’s Allowance in exceptional circumstances. For example, estrangement from your family leading to severe hardship."
                                                           (Financial Help for Young People, Direct Gov Webiste)