Helping children get a fairer start ?

Best Start Grants

Pregnant or recently had a child?

You could be due £600 The Scottish Government, has increased the payments available to lower income families for each child they have. The Best Start Grant Pregnancy and Baby Payment will help children across Scotland have a fairer start by providing cash sums to families at crucial times in a young child’s life.

 

Best Start Grant Pregnancy and Baby Payment, which will be delivered by Social Security Scotland, is a one-off payment of £600 for your first child then £300 for each younger sibling. You do not need to pay this back. It is there to help you with pregnancy or baby related expenses, including clothes and nursery items.

 

The new Pregnancy and Baby Payment will launch on 10 December 2018 and you can apply from the 24th week of your pregnancy, up until the child is six months old. Either parent or carer can apply. The Pregnancy and Baby Payment is part of Best Start Grant – a package of three payments that will give extra money to lower-income families during the key early years of a child’s life.

 

To be eligible for the Pregnancy and Baby Payment, you must live in Scotland and be in receipt of a qualifying benefit from the list below:

 

• Income Support

• Income-based Jobseekers Allowance

• Income-related Employment and Support Allowance

• Pension Credit

• Universal Credit

• Housing Benefit

• Child Tax Credit

• Working Tax Credit If you are under 18 or 18/19 and still dependant on your parents and in full time education or training – you do not need to be in receipt of a qualifying benefit.

The Pregnancy and Baby Payment will not affect your other benefits or tax credits.

You can apply online, by phone or post.  Visit https://www.mygov.scot/pregnancy-and-baby-payment/ or call 0800 182 2222 to find out more. Alternatively you can contact our Welfare Rights Officer Vivien Betteridge on 0141 881 0638 if you wish to discuss further.

Please keep checking our Website/ Facebook  for further announcements on the new Social Security Scotland.

Important Social Security changes which may affect you from April 2017

Child Tax Credits

From the 1st April 2017 anyone claiming Child Tax Credits who already have two or more children will not be able to make a claim for any additional children. HMRC have capped claims to a maximum of two children per household.

Existing claims will not change however from 1st April you will not be able to add any more children on to your claim. There are some circumstances that will be exempt from the rule, so please speak to us to get more information.

Employment & Support Allowance

If you claim Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) from 1st April and are assessed as having some capability for work and placed into the Work Related Activity Group (WRAG) did you know that you will no longer receive any additional money to your Employment and Support Allowance?

You will now receive the same amount as those on Job Seekers Allowance. If you are placed into the Support Group then you will receive an additional payment to your Employment and Support Allowance.  Existing claims are not affected.

Minimum Wage and impact on Carers Allowance

The Minimum Wage will increase on the 1st April 2017. If you are currently in receipt of Housing Benefit you will need to contact East Renfrewshire Council and let them know about this change of income, as this is not done automatically. It you do not notify the benefits section of any change in your family income then this can lead to an overpayment of Housing Benefit which you will be expected to pay back.

If you are in receipt of Carers Allowance then please be aware that any increase in your minimum wage could also mean that you no longer qualify for Carers Allowance.

This is because the maximum that you can earn after deductions is £110 per week.

For example, if you are over 25 and work 16 hours at £7.50 you will earn £120 per week, this is above the amount that you can earn to qualify for Carer’s Allowance.

Minimum wage rates from 1st April 2017

25 and over £7.50 per hour

21 – 24 £7.05 per hour

18 – 20 £5.60 per hour

Under 18 £4.05 per hour

Apprentice £3.50 per hour

Bereavement Benefits

From 6th April 2017 Bereavement benefits will be changed and a new Bereavement Support Payment (BSP) will replace the three existing bereavement benefits, being:

Bereavement Payment; Bereavement Allowance and  Widowed Parents Allowance.

BSP can be claimed if someone’s husband, wife or civil partner dies on or after 6th April 2017. Deaths prior to this date will fall under the current Bereavement Benefit process. The eligibility rules are very complex and dependent on your age and the type of benefits you are on. If you think that you may be affected by any of these social security changes due to be implemented on the 1st April then please contact our Welfare Rights Officer. She will be happy to talk through the changes and how they will affect you. She can be contacted on 0141 881 0638 or by email at vivienb@barrheadha.org alternatively you can contact the Association and arrange a suitable appointment to discuss any benefit issue or get advice

 

The Welfare Reform Act took effect in 2013, when it is due to roll out Universal Credit to replace the following benefits with one single payment:

Jobseekers Allowance – Income Support – Child Tax Credit – Working Tax Credit – Employment Support Allowance – Housing Benefit.

Universal Credit payments will include housing benefit and one single payment will be made to the claimant directly, as opposed to the current arrangement where the cost of rent is paid directly to the housing provider, like Barrhead HA, from the local authority. Universal Credit only applies to working age tenants, and doesnt apply to anyone over pensionable age (61years) at present. There are plans to look at a single pension Credit in the future.

From April 2013, the changes have introduced the under occupancy charge, commonly referred to as the bedroom tax, to those tenants in receipt of housing benefit. The amount of housing benefit received will be reduced if the property you live in is considered too big for your household.

I bedroom will be allowed for – every adult couple; every adult aged 16 or over; any 2 children of different sex what are under 10 years of age; any 2 children of the same sex under 16 years of age; any other child; a carer who regularly provides overnight care to you or your partner if you are disabled.

Housing Benefit will be cut by 14% if you have one spare room based on these criteria and up to 25% if you have two or more spare rooms. Currently there is funding available from East Renfrewshire Council for discretionary housing benefit to combat this under occupancy charge but tenants must apply for this. Please contact the Association or East Renfrewshire Council for assistance.

HOUSING BENEFIT SUSPENSIONS – currently the Department of Works and Pensions is in the process of reviewing all claimants in receipt of Income Support and Incapacity Benefit. When reviews are carried out, housing benefit payments to the Association are automatically suspended. Please contact us if this has happened to you so that we can assist you to re-apply.

Data Protection Act 2018 - The information you have supplied to us will be used by Barrhead Housing Association to process your enquiry or comments. We may also use your information to verify your identity where required, contact you by post, email or telephone and to maintain our records. Barrhead Housing Association will use this information because we need to do so to perform a task carried out. You can find out more about how we handle this information and your rights in respect of it by going to www.barrheadha.org.uk/usefuldocuments where our Data Protection Statement and Privacy Policy are available. If you do not have access to a computer and wish a paper copy please let us know by contacting us at or by telephone at 0141 881 0638.