How do I apply for Income Support??

A question about : How do I apply for Income Support??

Hello

Im having to stop self employment due to severe illness, i already get high rate DLA etc due to lupus, RA, agrophobia and severe mental health problems.
what is the procedure in claiming IS, do i inform the tax credits and how soon will the IS come through after claiming etc?
any advice would be great please?
maddie13
xx

Best answers:

• Hi Maddie,
  Ring your Jobcentre and they will tell you what the procedure is locally.
  Ask them how long it will take to come through and if you can't manage in the meantime, tell them you want to put in a claim for a Crisis Loan from the Social Fund. You may possibly be entitled to a Community Care Grant from the Social Fund. You could ask at your local CAB or other Welfare Benefits advice place to see which.
  Yes you do need to inform Inland Revenue re Tax Credits because if you are not working they will stop.
• Thanks for the info. Is it straight forward to claim IS?? Abit daunting and not good with forms ???
  MAddie 13
  xx
• It is straightforward even though the form is long. A lot of the questions probably won't apply to you, it just looks worse than it is! Some places are doing the initial claim by phone; after you have phoned to make the initial appointment they give you a time when they will ring back. You fill in the questions over the phone, then they send it to you for confirmation. It depends if you are in one of the trial areas or not.
• I just re-read your post - is there someone who can help you fill in the form?
• You can download a form to practice on here DWP Jobcentre Income Support details
  If you want to use the version which you fill in with your PC rather than a pen you may need to download the latest version of Adobe Acrobat (the software which deals with PDF files) it's worth having the new version anyway as I find it better for searching documents.
  I said "practice" the form as you may find when you tell you jobcenter you want to submit a fully completed form they won't accept it. It depends a bit on the local manager, it may be something to do with preventing fraud or maybe some have a jobsworth mentality. But if you have downloaded the form, then gone through it and prepared your answers, if when you are called to the office to fill in a form with an adviser you can take your practice form with you and know that you won't be caught out by not having the right information to hand.
  Sorry out that the form you can fill in onscreen isn't there any more just the print version here Download an Income Support form here