Regular payments
Regular payments are taken into account as income if they are intended, and used, for food, ordinary clothing or footwear, household fuel, rent, council tax or water charges. Up to £20 a week is disregarded. You cannot get the £20 disregard in full as well as the full disregards available on a student loan or voluntary and charitable payments (or on widowed parent’s allowance or war pensions). If you get one of these other payments as well as a discretionary hardship payment, your maximum weekly disregard is £20.
For example, if you have a student loan for living costs and regular payments from the university’s hardship fund, £10 a week is disregarded from each. If you also receive regular payments from a charity, these count in full as you have already used up your £20 disregard on the loan and the hardship fund payment.
Regular payments intended, and used, for anything else, such as childcare expenses, are completely disregarded.