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  5. Universal Credit

Unable to manage your Universal Credit claim by yourself

You will be able to see all the information about your claim through your Universal Credit online account. If you can’t manage your claim by yourself, you can ask someone to help you. There are a few ways you can do this.

If you need help to manage your claim

If you’re having difficulty managing your claim, you can speak to your work coach who can help you arrange for someone else to manage your claim.

Depending on what your needs are, this could be:

  • a representative – you can ask another person or organisation to deal with your claim for you
  • an appointee – you can ask a friend, relative or organisation
  • Power of attorney – you can appoint a friend, a relative or professional person

Help from a representative

If you can’t find the information you need, or you need help to understand things about your claim, you can ask another person or organisation to deal with your Universal Credit claim for you. That person or organisation would be your ‘representative’.

You can tell Universal Credit about your representative through your Universal Credit online account, face to face at your local Jobs & Benefits office or by phoning the Universal Credit Service Centre at any time during your Universal Credit claim.

Messages to your online account will be answered as soon as possible during business hours.

Sharing your information with your representative

  • you must give your permission before your information can be shared with a representative
  • you can withdraw your permission at any time
  • your permission only lasts until the specific request is completed or until the end of the Assessment Period after the one when you gave your permission

Universal Credit will never give your representative the following information, even if you have given permission.

  • your address
  • your date of birth
  • your National Insurance number
  • your bank details (sort code, account number, account holder name)
  • your phone numbers
  • the names of people who live in your home
  • the names of your employers or former employers

An appointee

If you can’t manage your own affairs, another person or organisation – referred to as an appointee – can ask to deal with your Universal Credit claim for you.

This could be a friend or relative, or an organisation or representative of an organisation (for example, a solicitor, Health and Social Care Trust or nursing home).  For more information, phone the Universal Credit Service Centre.

Power of attorney

If you can’t manage your own affairs you can appoint a friend, relative or professional to have ‘power of attorney’ to allow them to act for you.

They will be able to look after your Universal Credit claim for you. For more information see managing your affairs and enduring power of attorney.

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Universal Credit

  • Agree your Universal Credit Commitment
  • Changes that may affect your Universal Credit
  • Changes you need to tell Universal Credit about
  • Contact Universal Credit for help with your claim
  • Extra help to make or maintain your Universal Credit claim
  • Find out who to contact about money taken off your Universal Credit payment
  • Frontier and cross border workers claiming Universal Credit
  • Help to find work on Universal Credit
  • Help while waiting for a Universal Credit payment
  • How much can be taken from your Universal Credit payments
  • How much Universal Credit you get and how you're paid
  • How you make a claim for Universal Credit
  • Money taken from your Universal Credit payments
  • More financial help if you get Universal Credit
  • Unable to manage your Universal Credit claim by yourself
  • Universal Credit - Sharing your information with others
  • Universal Credit if you have a health condition or disability
  • Universal Credit if you're claiming other benefits or tax credits
  • Universal Credit if you're employed
  • Universal Credit if you're self-employed
  • Universal Credit if you're unemployed
  • Universal Credit payments for children and childcare
  • Universal Credit payments for housing
  • Universal Credit reclaims
  • Universal Credit: advance payments
  • Universal Credit: two child limit
  • What to do after you have claimed Universal Credit
  • What will affect your Universal Credit payments
  • Who can claim Universal Credit
  • Who to contact if you disagree with Universal Credit's decision
  • Who to talk to about deductions from your Universal Credit
  • You want to claim Universal Credit again

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Comments or queries about angling can be emailed to anglingcorrespondence@daera-ni.gov.uk 

If you have a comment or query about benefits, you will need to contact the government department or agency which handles that benefit.  Contacts for common benefits are listed below.

Carer's Allowance

Call 0800 587 0912
Email 
dcs.incomingpostteamdhc2@nissa.gsi.gov.uk

Discretionary support / Short-term benefit advance

Call 0800 587 2750 
Email 
customerservice.unit@communities-ni.gov.uk

Disability Living Allowance

Call 0800 587 0912 
Email dcs.incomingpostteamdhc2@nissa.gsi.gov.uk

Employment and Support Allowance

Call 0800 587 1377

Jobseeker’s Allowance

Contact your local Jobs & Benefits office

Personal Independence Payment

Call 0800 587 0932

If your query is about another benefit, select ‘Other’ from the drop-down menu above.

Comments or queries about the Blue Badge scheme can be emailed to bluebadges@infrastructure-ni.gov.uk or you can also call 0300 200 7818.

For queries or advice about careers, contact the Careers Service.

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For queries or advice about claiming compensation due to a road problem, contact DFI Roads claim unit.

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If your query is about another topic, select ‘Other’ from the drop-down menu above.

For queries about your identity check, email nida@nidirect.gov.uk and for queries about your certificate, email covidcertni@hscni.net.

For queries or advice about criminal record checks, email ani@accessni.gov.uk

Application and payment queries can be emailed to ema_ni@slc.co.uk

For queries or advice about employment rights, contact the Labour Relations Agency.

For queries or advice about birth, death, marriage and civil partnership certificates and research, contact the General Register Office Northern Ireland (GRONI) by email gro_nisra@finance-ni.gov.uk

For queries about the High Street Spend Local Scheme,  email HSSS.mail@economy-ni.gov.uk.

For queries about:

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    contact the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA), Swansea
     
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    contact the Driver & Vehicle Agency (DVA), Northern Ireland

If your query is about another topic, select ‘Other’ from the drop-down menu above.

For queries about your identity check, email nida@nidirect.gov.uk.

 

For queries or advice about passports, contact HM Passport Office.

For queries or advice about Penalty Charge Notices (PCNs), including parking tickets and bus lane PCNs, email dcu@infrastructure-ni.gov.uk

For queries or advice about pensions, contact the Northern Ireland Pension Centre.

If you wish to report a problem with a road or street you can do so online in this section.

If you wish to check on a problem or fault you have already reported, contact DfI Roads.

For queries or advice about historical, social or cultural records relating to Northern Ireland, use the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland (PRONI) enquiry service.

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