The UK's benefits system provides practical and financial help for people looking for work.

Some benefits are intended to assist disabled people, and some are even available to people working on low incomes, in certain circumstances.  They also help people who are bringing up children, retired, or care for someone else.

The Government's Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) manages and delivers most benefits through JobCentre Plus offices.  Benefits and entitlements for pensioners are dealt with through a network of pension centres which provide a face-to-face service for those who need additional help and support.  You'll also often deal with other agencies or government departments, such as your local council or HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC, formerly Inland Revenue, who deal with tax).

If you are of 'working age', benefits such JobSeeker's Allowance (JSA), are managed by JobCentre Plus offices around the country.  These offices can also help you find work, start your own business, manage on a low income and advise you about illness or accidents caused by work.  They are generally not very well set up to deal with the complexities of artistic and crafts-based practices, and advisors tend to have little or no understanding of how artistic careers function.  JobCentre Plus also looks after benefits and services for families, including people bringing up children, including children with special needs.

Other agencies that deal with benefits include:

• The Child Support Agency (CSA) is part of the DWP and is responsible for running the child support system. It assesses, collects and pays child maintenance.
• HM Revenue & Customs deals with Child Benefit, Guardian's Allowance and tax credits.
• The Disability and Carers Service, which is part of the DWP, is responsible for benefits and services for people who are sick or have a disability, for example, Disability Living Allowance and Attendance Allowance.

Your local JobCentre Plus office is your first point of contact for finding out more about these benefits and services, but you are strongly advised to contact your local Citizen's Advice Bureau (CAB) as well for impartial advice on the full range of potential benefits you can claim.  Basic information on some available benefits is contained in the rest of this section.  There are a number of benefits, or top-up funds for people on benefits, which your JobCentre Plus may not offer without you asking specifically for, such as help with travel costs to interviews at some distance to your home and funds for clothing for interviews or basic tools not provided by employers. A good overview of many benefits in one place can be found on the BBC website.

Looking for a quick check on what benefits you may be eligible for?  Visit the Turn2Us benefits check.

•   29 September Department for Work and Pensions Public Enquiries
  website

  dwp.gov.uk/contact-us/

  Contacts for local offices for enquiries about all benefits, as well as contact information for ministers in the Department.

•   29 September Citizen's Advice Bureau
  website

  http://www.adviceguide.org.uk
  website

  http://www.citizensadvice.org.uk

  Citizens Advice Bureau are one stop shops where basic advice and information on your rights can be obtained. There are many centres around the UK and also an online advice.

•   29 September JobCentre Plus
  website

  http://www.jobcentreplus.gov.uk

  Manages and delivers benefits on behalf of the Department for Work and Pensions, including JobSeeker's Allowance and some others. Can also help unemployed people with training and finding work.

•   29 September Community Care
  website

  http://www.communitycare.co.uk

  Excellent resource for an overview of the benefits system, including articles on new benefits and elegibility.

•   29 September Working Tax Credits
  website

  http://taxcredits.hmrc.gov.uk/Qualify/WhatAreTaxCredits.aspx

  Tax credits provide extra income to people who are employed or self-employed (and, separately, people with children), either on their own or in a partnership, depending on their age and circumstances who usually work 30 hours or more a week; are paid for that work; and expect to work for at least 4 weeks. See website for full information applying and eligibility.

• benefits
• tax
• money
• national insurance