If your Income Support has stopped

This advice applies to England. See advice for See advice for Northern Ireland, See advice for Scotland, See advice for Wales

Your Income Support might have stopped because:

  • you didn’t report a change in circumstances - for example, your partner moved in with you

  • the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) thinks you’re earning more than you told them

  • you didn’t reply when the DWP wrote to check certain details of your claim

  • the DWP thinks you're no longer caring for someone

  • your child turned 5

The DWP should have written to tell you that your Income Support is being stopped - and the date it will end. The letter will say something like ‘you’re no longer entitled to Income Support’ and should tell you why.

If you can’t find the letter, you can call the DWP to find out why your Income Support has stopped.

Department for Work and Pensions Benefit Enquiry Line

Telephone: 0800 169 0310

Textphone: 0800 169 0314

Welsh language: 0800 328 1744

Relay UK - if you can't hear or speak on the phone, you can type what you want to say: 18001 then 0800 169 0310

You can use Relay UK with an app or a textphone. There’s no extra charge to use it. Find out how to use Relay UK on the Relay UK website.

Video relay - if you use British Sign Language (BSL).  

You can find out how to use video relay on YouTube.

Monday to Friday, 8am to 5pm

Calls are free from mobiles and landlines.

Make a note of the date and time you call. Also write down the name of the person you spoke to. You might need these details when you ask for your Income Support to start again. 

If you’ve been told to claim Universal Credit by a certain date

The Department for Work and Pensions are stopping some people’s benefits and telling them to claim Universal Credit instead.

If you get a letter telling you to claim Universal Credit by a certain deadline, this is a ‘migration notice’. You should claim Universal Credit by the deadline in the migration notice. Your old benefits will stop after the deadline.

You might miss out on some money if you apply after the deadline. 

Check what you should do if you get a migration notice.

Challenging the DWP’s decision to stop your Income Support

If you disagree with the DWP’s reasons for stopping your Income Support, you can ask them to change the decision. For example, if they stopped your Income Support because they think you live with your partner when you don’t.

To do this, you’ll need to ask for a ‘mandatory reconsideration’. See challenging an Income Support decision for how to ask for one.

If you get Housing Benefit

Tell your local council that you're challenging the decision to stop your Income Support. Telling them why the DWP decision is wrong should help prevent your Housing Benefit from stopping too.

If you don’t have enough to live on while your benefits are sorted, you can get emergency help with things like heating or items you need for your house - for example a bed or cooker.

See food banks and other help in your area for how to apply.

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