Free school dinners....

annaangeluk_2

Hi all,

I'm just looking for a bit of clarification on entitlement to free school meals.

I've read the guidance on the direct gov website and I'm still a little bit confused about the wording of it (I'm aware it is me being a bit dim!:o )

Free school lunches

Parents do not have to pay for school lunches if they receive any of the following:

• Income Support
• income-based Jobseeker's Allowance
• support under Part VI of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999
• Child Tax Credit, provided they are not entitled to Working Tax Credit and have an annual income (as assessed by HM Revenue & Customs) that does not exceed £15,575
• the Guarantee element of State Pension Credit

I currently recieve child tax credit and working tax credit but with the two combined plus my income I still have an annual income of considerably less than £15,575. So does the fact i recieve WTC automatically mean I'm not eligible for free school dinners even though I'm way below their income threshold??

Thanks in advance for any help clarifying this!!

Anna x

Auzelia

yep!

I get wtc and ctc and I cannot get the milk tokens due to receiving WTC even though my income is considerably less than £15,575

annaangeluk_2

Auzelia wrote: »

yep!

I get wtc and ctc and I cannot get the milk tokens due to receiving WTC even though my income is considerably less than £15,575

Thanks Auzelia! I thought that was the case as I never got milk tokens either but just thought I'd check in case I'd got it wrong! Clearly I haven't. Don't understand why WTC should rule out the option of additional help but obviously "someone" thought it was a good idea :mad: .

Anna x

Auzelia

I know..

my son is 2 years old now and couldnt bf so had to be given forumla.
So i chose the best one (aptamil) and at £8 a tub its not cheap.
you would think for going out to work you would at least get some help.
But no... rent needs to be paid, council tax etc ... Yet others who dont work get rent paid, council tax paid and get various other benefits i.e milk tokens.

This baby for sure is gonna be BF as I cant afford £8 a tub again... lol

woozywendy

Auzelia wrote: »

I know..

my son is 2 years old now and couldnt bf so had to be given forumla.
So i chose the best one (aptamil) and at £8 a tub its not cheap.
you would think for going out to work you would at least get some help.
But no... rent needs to be paid, council tax etc ... Yet others who dont work get rent paid, council tax paid and get various other benefits i.e milk tokens.

This baby for sure is gonna be BF as I cant afford £8 a tub again... lol

Can you get your formula at a reduced price at your local clinic ? I know I used to when my children were babies. I could get one tub a week at the reduced price.

Auzelia

no!
sadly not.
our health centre closed their formula clinic (shop).

bestpud

annaangeluk wrote: »

Thanks Auzelia! I thought that was the case as I never got milk tokens either but just thought I'd check in case I'd got it wrong! Clearly I haven't. Don't understand why WTC should rule out the option of additional help but obviously "someone" thought it was a good idea :mad: .

Anna x

It's because CTC (and not WTC) is paid to non-working families - these are the people on income support, or the new equivalent, and they qualify for free school meals.

But it is also paid to working families who earn too much for WTC, so only get CTC. They could be earning up to almost £60k a year and only getting CTC iyswim. Clearly they would not qualify for free school meals!

For that reason they have to clarify which group they mean.

annaangeluk_2

Auzelia wrote: »

I know..

my son is 2 years old now and couldnt bf so had to be given forumla.
So i chose the best one (aptamil) and at £8 a tub its not cheap.
you would think for going out to work you would at least get some help.
But no... rent needs to be paid, council tax etc ... Yet others who dont work get rent paid, council tax paid and get various other benefits i.e milk tokens.

This baby for sure is gonna be BF as I cant afford £8 a tub again... lol

I know exactly what you mean! P*sses me off when we seem to miss out again by being "stupid" enough to work!!

Thankfully dd breastfed exclusively for 18 months so I never needed to buy formula. Thank god at the price of it!! Good luck with the next one, "it" will hopefully be a little money saving baby and take to bf!

Anna x

bestpud

I guess you could always give up work if you feel you'd be better off?

annaangeluk_2

bestpud wrote: »

I guess you could always give up work if you feel you'd be better off?

Not an option as I have a mortgage so would essentially end up homeless, plus I like going to work for various different reasons. It just seems unfair that people who don't work and I mean the people that choose not to not the poor sods desperately looking for work, always seem to get the extra help.

My dd has just gone back onto school dinners and I think its necessary at this time of year with the weather being so cold and the extra £8 or £9 a week that free school dinners would give us would be very welcome as after said mortgage, bills etc is paid there is never a lot of pennies left over! Oh well, it always gets paid somehow! Some months I wonder how but it always does!!

Anna x

mandragora_2

Please don't stop work - it might be worth ringing your local authority in the New Year (I'd wait till the 6th or so, when people who know lots of nuggets of info should be back). Some LA's have local rules/benefits/grants you can apply for. The other things to ask about are uniform grants and help with school trips - there are often bits of funds lurking in various pots to help out with this. Finally, don't be too proud to contact someone senior at the school - ask for a private meeting, and explain the situation - especially if there's something specific coming up. You won't be the only family in this position, and a switched-on member of staff will be wise to the poverty trap thresholds you're experiencing; an element of funding from the govt grants is supposed to go towards this. One thing schools can do is explore partial payment or payment plans to help spread the cost. The thought of a child not taking part in something simply because of money constraints is something most teachers will try to do something about.