Who this training course is for
This online training course is for advisers who want to learn how to use Lisson Grove’s Quick Benefits Calculator (QBC) effectively and confidently.
This course is appropriate for advisers at all levels from trainees who have never used QBC before, to experienced advisers, and supervisors who want to more confidently understand how QBC works. A general understanding of the welfare benefits system is required to get the most of this course.
How the course is delivered
The course is delivered online, divided into two morning sessions, each lasting 3.5 hours. It is a practical course. Attendees share their screens with the group as they work through calculations together in each session.
What the course covers
The calculations start simple, with each calculation introducing one or two different benefit rules or functions of the calculator.
The first day is focused on claimant’s under the Universal Credit system it includes:
- The amount of the standard allowance, couples, and age-rules
- The children screen, the different rates of the child responsibility element and the two-child limit
- Identifying the appropriate LHA rate
- Identifying when the bedroom tax applies
- Entering earnings and childcare costs the work screen
- Treatment of earned income and the income taper, including the amount of the work allowance (and who gets one)
- Savings/capital, the calculation of tariff income, and capital disregards
- An introduction to the CTR screen, setting the local authority, finding information about your client’s CT band and the rates in your local area
- How to enter the information including applying the council tax discounts
There is a homework exercise which involves comparing QBC to other commonly use benefit calculators. This exercise also demonstrates QBC’s essential functionality with regards to weekly, fortnightly, and four-weekly paid claimants. We also see the benefit cap in action.
The second day builds on the learning from day one, it covers:
- Mixed age couples
- ESA and LCW/LCWRA
- Overlapping benefit rules and underlying entitlement to carers allowance
- Working with the tax credits screens, taking a systematic approach to the income worksheet, and identifying errors
- Using the print preview function to check the information you’ve entered
- Entering non-dependents, exemptions from non-dependent deductions and how these differ between UC & legacy benefits
- Comparing UC calculations and legacy benefit calculations
Note. previous versions of this course have covered tax credit calculations in detail. However, the need for these calculations are increasingly rare. If you are looking for a course covering tax credits in more detail I can highly recommend CPAG’s excellent “QBC – making the most of your calculator” course.
Pricing
| Number of delegates | Price per delegate |
| 1-3 | £100 |
| 4-6 | £85 |
| 7-9 | £75 |
| 10 or more | £65 |
Course dates
This course is currently scheduled to run four times a year. Additional on-demand courses are available for groups of 7 or more.
| Month | Day 1 | Day 2 |
|---|---|---|
| January 2025 | Tuesday 7th January 2025 (9:30-1:00) | Wednesday, 8th January 2025 (9:30-1:00) |
| March 2025 | Monday 24th March 2025 (9:30-1:00) | Tuesday 25th March 2025 (9:30-1:00) |
| May 2025 | Tuesday 13th May 2025 (9:30-1:00) | Thursday 15th May 2025 (9:30-1:00) |
| July 2025 | Monday 6th July 2025 (9:30-1:00) | Tuesday 7th July 2025 (9:30-1:00) |
| September 2025 | Wednesday 24th September 2025 (9:30-1:00) | Thursday 25th September 2025 (9:30-1:00) |
| November 2025 | Tuesday 18th November 2025 (9:30-1:00) | Thursday 20th November 2025 (9:30-1:00) |
| January 2026 | Monday 12th January 2026 (9:30-1:00) | Wednesday 14th January 2025 (9:30-1:00) |