A Universal Credit award opens the door to a range of help that has to be claimed separately and is worth hundreds or thousands of pounds a year to a family. From the 2026/27 school year every child in a household receiving Universal Credit qualifies for free school meals, worth around £500 a child a year. Healthy Start pays £4.65 a week per young child and pregnancy, £9.30 for a baby under one. A Budgeting Advance lends up to £812 interest free, repaid from the award over 24 months, and Help to Save adds a 50% bonus to savings of up to £50 a month. Free prescriptions and dental treatment, the Sure Start Maternity Grant and council tax help complete the list.
What is available
| Help | What it is worth | Who qualifies |
|---|---|---|
| Free school meals | About £500 a child a year | From September 2026, every child in a household on Universal Credit; until then, household earnings of £7,400 a year or less |
| Healthy Start | £4.65 a week from the 10th week of pregnancy and for each child aged 1 to 3; £9.30 for each child under 1 | Universal Credit with earnings of £408 a month or less, or certain other benefits; all pregnant under-18s |
| Budgeting Advance | £348 single, £464 couple, £812 with children, minimum £100 | Six months on Universal Credit, savings under £1,000 counted in full above that, and earnings below the limit |
| Help to Save | 50p for every £1 saved, up to £50 a month, for four years: up to £1,200 of bonus | Universal Credit claimants in paid work |
| Free prescriptions, dental treatment and sight tests | £9.90 an item, dental bands from £27.90 | Earnings of £435 a month or less, or £935 with a child element or limited capability for work |
| Sure Start Maternity Grant | £500, one-off | First child, or a multiple birth, on Universal Credit |
| Cold Weather Payment | £25 for each seven-day period of freezing weather | Universal Credit with a child under five, a disability element or limited capability for work |
| Council Tax Reduction | Up to 100% of the bill under the local scheme | Applied for through the council; not automatic |
Free school meals
Free school meals have been limited to Universal Credit households with earnings of £7,400 a year or less, a cliff edge that cost families money when a parent’s hours rose. From the start of the 2026/27 academic year the earnings test goes and every child in a household receiving Universal Credit qualifies, whatever the household earns. The entitlement still has to be claimed through the local council or school, and a claim also brings pupil premium funding to the school. All children in reception, year 1 and year 2 in state schools receive free meals regardless of income; parents on Universal Credit should still register them so the school receives the funding.
Healthy Start
Healthy Start is a prepaid card for fruit, vegetables, milk, pulses and infant formula, loaded every four weeks. A pregnant woman with a baby under one and a toddler receives £18.60 a week, £74.40 per payment and about £967 a year; a single child aged 1 to 3 brings £4.65 a week. Eligibility on Universal Credit requires take-home earnings of £408 or less in the last assessment period, a threshold that a part-time job can cross, and pregnant women under 18 qualify without any benefit. Free vitamins come with the card. The Healthy Start checker shows the weekly and annual value for a household, and our Child Benefit guide covers the main payment for children.
Budgeting Advances
A Budgeting Advance is an interest-free loan from the Department for Work and Pensions for a one-off cost such as a cooker, furniture, a rent deposit or funeral expenses, or for costs of starting a job. The maximum is £348 for a single person, £464 for a couple and £812 for a household with children, and savings above £1,000 reduce the amount available pound for pound, so a family with £1,300 saved can borrow at most £512. Repayments come off the monthly Universal Credit award, normally over 24 months: £600 costs £25 a month, and no further advance is available until the first is repaid. The Budgeting Advance calculator shows the maximum and the monthly deduction for your household and savings.
Help to Save
Help to Save is a government savings account for people on Universal Credit who are in paid work. Savers can put in £1 to £50 a month for four years and receive a 50% bonus on the highest balance reached, paid at the end of years two and four, so a saver who manages the full £50 every month receives £1,200 of bonus on £2,400 of savings. Withdrawals are allowed at any time without losing bonus already earned, although they reduce the highest balance on which the second bonus is calculated. The scheme is the best return available on small savings anywhere, and the savings goal calculator shows how the balance builds.
Health costs and other help
Universal Credit claimants with earnings of £435 or less in the last assessment period, or £935 with a child element or limited capability for work, pay nothing for NHS prescriptions, dental treatment, sight tests and glasses vouchers; our prescription charges guide sets out the exemptions. Councils run their own Council Tax Reduction schemes and most cut the bill substantially for households on Universal Credit with low earnings, but a separate application is always needed. Water companies and broadband providers offer social tariffs to Universal Credit customers, typically saving £150 to £300 a year, and the Flexible Support Fund at Jobcentres can pay for travel, clothing and childcare costs when starting work. Our Universal Credit rates guide covers the award itself.
Common questions
Do I get free school meals on Universal Credit? Yes for every child from September 2026, whatever your earnings. Before then the household’s earnings must be £7,400 a year or less.
How much is Healthy Start? £4.65 a week for each pregnancy and each child aged 1 to 3, and £9.30 a week for each child under 1, loaded onto a card every four weeks, for Universal Credit claimants earning £408 a month or less.
How much can I borrow as a Budgeting Advance? Up to £348 as a single person, £464 as a couple or £812 with children, reduced by any savings over £1,000, and repaid from your Universal Credit over 24 months.
What is Help to Save? A four-year savings account for working Universal Credit claimants that adds 50p to every £1 saved, up to £50 a month, giving up to £1,200 of bonus.
Are prescriptions free on Universal Credit? Only where earnings in the last assessment period were £435 or less, or £935 or less with a child element or limited capability for work.
Do I have to apply for these separately? Yes. None of them is paid automatically with Universal Credit; each needs its own claim through the council, the NHS, HMRC or the Jobcentre.
Information, not financial advice. Amounts and thresholds are the published 2026/27 figures on gov.uk and the NHS Business Services Authority, including gov.uk: free school meals and gov.uk: Universal Credit, other financial support; worked figures are from the site’s calculators. Check eligibility for each scheme before applying.