New mum, need help!

Mum-2-Be

I am currently 8 weeks pregnant (found out a few days ago) and will be a single mum as dad has insisted he wants nothing to do with the baby

I am on ESA and have been for over a year now, in receipt of CT and HB.

I am a bit all over the place as this wasnt planned and no i do not want an abortion, so i dont know where to start!

Do i phone the jobcentre and let them know or wait till my scan?

Also, i would be looking to move to a larger private let for me and the wee one and wanted to know i the full amount will be covered by HB?

For example i i ended up taking a 3bed house @ £600 per month would i only get LHA for 2 rooms and have to make up the rest myself?
What do i apply for for my wee one also?

Any help greatly appreciated!

magicstrawberry

If you have a look at www.entitledto.co.uk and put in the details as if the baby was here it should give you an idea.

Also if you look at www.citizensadvice.org.uk/ they have good general information of what you might be entitled to although the first is a better bet.

My rough understanding is that you won't get child benefit untill the baby's born. You should get the sure start maternity grant if its your first child and you may get the healthy eating in pregnancy grant if your 25 weeks gone before the 1st January as i think they intend on scraping it.

I think you tell them as soon as your sure you want to go ahead which you have said you want to but don't quote me on that... that would need clarifying by someone

Can i ask why a three bedroom ? is there another person/ child? as far as im aware people are only entitled to single person rate i think with exception of some on DLA ... and an extra room rate after a certain period after the baby is born

Hope someone can clarify more for you

DX2

Mum-2-Be wrote: »

I am currently 8 weeks pregnant (found out a few days ago) and will be a single mum as dad has insisted he wants nothing to do with the baby

He still has a duty to pay child support.

C_Mababejive

Have you contact the CSA? He cant just dump and run. He has responsibilities to you,the child and the state.

DX2

C_Mababejive wrote: »

Have you contact the CSA? He cant just dump and run. He has responsibilities to you,the child and the state.

Catch a grip :rotfl:she's only 8 weeks pregnant, once the child is born she contacts the CSA.

bestpud

You would get the one bed rate until the baby is born (assuming you are over 25?) and the two bed rate once they are here. If you moved into a two bed house before the birth, you could apply for discretionary payments to help before the new rate kicks in but it wouldn't be guaranteed.

Could you manage where you are until after the baby is born? They don't take up a huge amount of room when newborn.

You may just catch the surestart grant.

Are you in the work based group for ESA?

For JSA, they will not take a pregnancy into account until much later on and I'd have thought it the same with ESA...?

You should let the father know he needs to support the baby once it arrives and you will contact the CSA if he does not. Takes two to tango and he cannot just walk away.

Duncombe

OP - you have a loooong time to get things sorted so try not to get into a panic.

Firstly, you can not claim for a two bedroomed house until your baby is born. Similarly, you can't claim CTC, CB until then either.

Im not sure about the ESA payments, but if you were on JSA you would move onto IS when you were 29 weeks pregnant and would be expected to still be seeking work until that time.

You might miss the cut off for the HIP grant of £190 as it is being scrapped on Jan 1st and as someone else has said you must be 25 weeks by then. You will probably stll be entitled to the Sure Start Maternity Grant of £500 once you reach 29 weeks.

But as I said, that is all a long long way off.

The father does not relinquish all responsibility just by saying he wants nothing to do with the child. When the child is born you can go through the CSA route if necessary.

McKneff

and Congratulations from us all.

Planned or not a baby is a wonderful gift.

Now stop worrying, relax and look forward to your new adventure
coming up. Everything will fall into place eventually.

Good luck.

If your feeling the pinch, car boot sales are a great way to stock up for baby.

Benefits_Bod

If the OP does decide to take a 2-bed house because of the expected future requirement, she can ask for a Discretionary Housing Payment to top up any shortfall in HB/LHA. The snag is, such payments are exactly as described; discretionary.

Mum-2-Be

Thank-you all for your replies, believe me the I will be on to the CSA as soon as!

The reason i was asking about a 3bed is that i am in a studio atm and most of the houses to rent are 3+ and £550+ which worried me a bit reg paying the large rent

I am going to stay where I am until the wee one arrives and hopefully have somewhere waiting

LondonDiva

Mum-2-Be wrote: »

Thank-you all for your replies, believe me the I will be on to the CSA as soon as!

The reason i was asking about a 3bed is that i am in a studio atm and most of the houses to rent are 3+ and £550+ which worried me a bit reg paying the large rent

I am going to stay where I am until the wee one arrives and hopefully have somewhere waiting

Instead of looking at 3 bed houses, have you looked at a 2 bed flat?