hi please help me

jona_2

hi first thing 1st

just found out that my lovely other half is pregnant

we have a 6 year old from her previous relationship that we have no contact with weve contacted the csa but heard nothing from them which was 6 months ago about recieving maintence from her ex but he cant be tracked down last we heard he was unemployed but hed just got married and his wife is working

now all recieve benifits wise is about 20 pound a week for child tax and me and the other half earn a combinded income of around 1600 i had to take a wage cut around 8 months ago or be made redundant i was earning around 1200 a month and my other half was on income support when i met her she recently got a job 4 months later and then changed her job 3 months ago so will she be entitled to matenity pay shes around 6 weeks preggers at the moment?

also when she leaves work and goes on maternity what other benifits will we be entitled to?

also another question at the moment we are living in a 2 bed upstairs flat and are thinking about getting a council house preferably closer to my perants as they have offered to help with babysitting when she returns to work as we wouldnt have to pay for child care also i work for my father and have to pick him up for work as he is unable to drive anymore with poor eyesight which is about a 15 mile trek at the moment we are living in a different council region will we get entitlement to get a 3 bed house when the baby is born

thanks for reading im just worried financially now that we are expecting as we are just about covering the bills at the moment

merlin68

No you wouldn't get a council house, as you are not homeless. I also know people who have waited 4 years for a house who are . Why would you get a 3 bed for 2 children. My friends have a 2 bed for 4 kids and one on the way. Another friend had 6 kids in a 3 and another had 7.

Evie82

I have 3 children and am in a two bedroom council house, I am not entitled to a three bedroom. So in answer to that question, the biggest you would get would be 2 bedroom and that would depend on the availability and the rules in your area and waiting lists. From experience the fact that you want to move closer to your family for babysitting and convienience will make no difference at all and the fact you already have a 2 bedroom flat will mean you are likely to be unable to get a council house at all, let alone in an area you choose and with 3 bedrooms.

You will get Child Tax credits for the baby and extra child benefit, other than that Im not sure. You are best to go to entiltedto.co.uk and put in your income as it is now and add a new born baby to the details, say born yesterday, that will calculate roughly what you are entitled to.

xmaslolly76

Do you work in the council region you will be applying to some council will priorities an application if you are trying to be closer to work however if they do it is still no guarentee that you would get a house. May be worth trying to save a deposit on a private rental if you are adament you want a house.

As for the maternity pay as long as your partner has been working for the company for 26 wks by the 15th week before she is due she will get maternity pay.

karenx

You won't get any other benefits than you get now, there's the hip grant of £190 once she reaches 26 weeks. The midwife will give her the form.
and as been said you won't get a 3 bedrrom due to ages of children. Once a child reaches about 11 I think it is you are entitled to another bedroom on the LHA rate

shazrobo

i think different councils vary, when i split mith my ex husband, i applied to move house from a two bedroomed ground floor flat in one council, to a house in another council near my family, my twin boys were only two at the time, and we were given a three bedroomed house

[Deleted User]

for housing it might be worth trying housing associations as well as councils

merlin68

You'll find that most ha's have to give their housing stock to people on council lists now, they go through the bidding system the same way.

[Deleted User]

merlin68 wrote: »

You'll find that most ha's have to give their housing stock to people on council lists now, they go through the bidding system the same way.

thats true in some areas,in fact our local housing trust had a 3 page ad in the local paper last week they have so many avaliable properties

leemack

Hi, congratulations on the impending new addition to your family.

You should be getting now child benefit of £20 a week plus child tax credit and possibly some working tax credit.

If you get more than the family element of child tax credit - more than £545 a year then you can apply for a surestart maternity grant of £500 from 11 weeks before the due date plus at some point the health in pregnancy grant.

Once baby is born you need to complete new child benefit form (additional £13.20 a week ) plus let HMRC know about new baby for additional tax credits.

For maternity pay, statutory or works maternity pay if she's been in the job long enough and earned enough, for statutory it might be 26 weeks by 15 weeks before due date - not sure about that you might want to check. If not then your partner can claim maternity allowance if she's earned enough.

For council housing, I think you generally only get two bed if you have two kids under 10, the tell you the size of properties you can bid on once you're accepted on the list.

good luck!

daska

It might be worth enquiring about HealthyStart vouchers as well. From what you've said you might be eligible. It's only £3.10(?) a week but it's better than nowt.