The following three chapters give an overview of how the benefits system hangs together (or tries to). This is not intended to tell you everything you could possibly need to know about the system, and there will always be inconsistencies, special rules and exemptions. I am also conscious that for simplicity, some very important benefits (including certain forms of employment-linked support, such as statutory maternity pay and statutory sick pay) are not discussed. Also excluded are the often very complex entitlements for those not able to receive all mainstream benefits as a result of their immigration status, or because they are not permanently resident in the UK. The recent decision to leave the European Union (EU) may well have further implications on entitlements for EU migrants – which are not fully known at the time of writing in 2017.

However, the chapters should provide an idea of some of the core mechanics through which the benefits system works – including the way in which different benefits combine to give an overall maximum entitlement, and how earnings, savings and other income reduce this.

Broken Benefits addresses the benefits system that exists in practice across the UK. It should be noted that Northern Ireland has its own benefits legislation, but in reality this largely mirrors the UK system. Some differences have been introduced recently (such as provisions to protect some groups affected by the benefit cap – mentioned later in this Chapter), so whilst the content of Broken Benefits largely applies to Northern Ireland as much as the rest of the UK, it should be read with a little caution. Whilst Scotland does not have fully devolved responsibility over welfare provision, it has started to have some devolved powers (for example over Discretionary Housing Payments – mentioned in Chapter 18). At the point of writing in 2017, further changes (such as the replacement of the Sure Start Maternity Grant with the ‘Better Start Grant’ mentioned in Chapter 9, and reform of the Personal Independence Payment), are expected to be introduced in Scotland in the near future.

Chapter 4 starts out with the simpler kinds of case – households that aren’t working, don’t have any other independent income or savings to live off, and that aren’t entitled to receive any contribution-based benefits.