What Cancer Benefits Can I Claim?
You might be able to get Tax‑Free Childcare and a certain amount of free childcare hours. This ranges from up to £2,000 for each of your children to £4,000 per year if your child has a disability.
Tax Free Childcare helps with the cost of childcare, such as childminders, nannies, nurseries after school clubs and play schemes. Your childcare provider must be signed up to the scheme for you to benefit from Tax Free Childcare.
Whether you qualify may depend on:
if you’re working
your income (and your partner’s income, if you have one)
your child’s age and circumstances
your immigration status
Read more on Tax Free Childcare on the Government website
You may be able to get free education and childcare if your child is 2 years old.
You qualify if you:
live in England, receiving certain benefits
have a child aged 2
Read more about free education and childcare for 2 year olds on the Government website
There are different schemes in other areas of the UK.
Funded early learning and childcare for 2 year olds in Scotland
Childcare benefits and other help for working parents in Northern Ireland
If you have a child aged 3 to 4, you can get free childcare for up to 15 hours a week for 38 weeks of the year.
You qualify if you have a child aged 3 or 4 and live in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland.
Read more about 15 hours free childcare for 3 and 4 year olds on the Government website
There is a different scheme for 3 to 5 year olds in Scotland
Read about Funded early learning and childcare for 3 to 5 year olds in Scotland
You may be able to get 30 hours of free childcare a week. You can apply for this through the Free Childcare for Working Parents scheme. It is for children aged 9 months to 4 years old, and you live in England.
To be eligible for Free Childcare for Working Parents:
you (and your partner if you have one) will need to be in work or about to start a new job
you (and your partner if you have one) must expect to earn a minimum amount in the 3 months after you apply. This amount depends on your age
you need a National Insurance number
Universal credit is a payment to help with living costs. It is replacing several other benefits, including Child Tax Credit.
You qualify if you are:
in paid work
starting a job in the next month
If you live with a partner, you both need to be in paid work unless your partner is unable to look after your children. For example, they have a health condition.
There is no minimum to the number of hours you work. You must be doing paid work. So, volunteering and only getting money for expenses do not count.
Read more about Universal Credit for childcare on the Government website
Go to the website for information on Universal Credit childcare costs in Northern Ireland
Disability Living Allowance is a payment for children with care needs or problems getting around. These should be more than those of a child of the same age without a disability.
Your child qualifies for DLA for children if they:
are under 16 - if over 16 they apply for Personal Independence Payment (PIP)
have problems walking or need looking after
live in England or Wales. In some situations, you may be eligible to claim from abroad
have lived in England, Scotland or Wales for a minimum period of time. The time depends on the child's age. For example, at least 6 of the last 12 months for a child over 3 years old
Read more about Disability Living Allowance (DLA) for children on the Government website
Read more on what to do if you live in Northern Ireland
If your child currently lives in Scotland, you need to apply for Child Disability Payment instead.
Read more on what to do if your child lives in Scotland
There is support available to help you with school and education costs.
Care to Learn is a scheme that can help with the cost of childcare while you study. It is available for publicly funded courses in England. The courses that are included are those in:
schools
sixth forms in schools
sixth form colleges
other colleges and learning providers, including Foundation Learning
your community at Children’s Centres
To qualify for Care to Learn, all of the following should apply to you. You have to:
be a parent under 20 at the start of your course
be the main carer for your child
live in England
be a British citizen or have a legal right to live and study in England
do a course that qualifies
use a childcare provider that qualifies (such as an Ofsted registered childminder or nursery)
Read more about Care to Learn on the Government website
Learner Support can help with costs if you are doing a further education course. It can help to pay for things like:
accommodation and travel
course materials and equipment
childcare through a government registered provider
a laptop and wifi
To qualify, you must be:
19 or older
studying for a qualification at level 3 or below
in financial hardship - your learning provider might ask for proof that you’re on a low income
Read more about Learner Support on the Government website
A childcare grant can help with the cost of childcare while you study. You don't have to pay it back. You have it on top of your other student finance.
There are some rules you need to meet to apply for this childcare grant. You must meet all of them to apply.
You cannot get a Childcare Grant if you pay someone to look after your child in your home (a nanny). Instead, you need to use a registered childminder or a nursery.
A Childcare Grant isn’t the same as 15 or 30 hours of free childcare. You can’t use the grant to pay for those hours.
Read more about a Childcare grant on the Government website
You can get help and advice on benefits from the following people:
a hospital or community social worker - they can give you advice on benefits and help you deal with debts
a welfare rights adviser at a hospital
Citizens Advice - their advisers can help with filling out benefit forms
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) provide its service through Jobcentre Plus offices. They deal with benefits for people who are unemployed or who can’t work because of a health condition or a disability
In Northern Ireland, the Department for Communities deals with benefits and pensions. For Jobseeker’s Allowance and Income Support in Northern Ireland, you need to contact your Jobs and Benefits office.
Contact a Jobs and Benefits office
Macmillan Cancer Support provides support and guidance on how to deal with the financial impact of cancer.
You can contact their team of money advisers (Monday to Friday, 8am to 6pm) on 0808 808 0000.
If you have school age children, you may also be able to get help with costs for school uniform, meals and transport. The help you can get depends on your individual situation and where you live in the UK.
Contact your local council for information on the help that might be available.
Last reviewed: 20 Apr 2026
Next review due: 20 Apr 2027
Working out which benefits you can apply for can be difficult. And applying for them can be time consuming. A number of organisations can help.
There are people and organisations that can help with benefits advice and information. They can help people with cancer and their carers.
Cancer might affect your personal finances, such as your mortgage, pension, credit cards and insurance. A financial adviser can offer advice.
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