Free school meals and working tax credit

mma_ramotswe

We appear to be in a catch 22 situation, our income has fallen below the [free school meals] FSM threshold of £16,190 so we thought we would be entitled to FSM . However when we reassessed our tax credits, we found that we were entitled to a small amount of working tax credit . Here,s the catch, if you qualify for working tax credit you then become ineligible for FSM:( can anybody shed any light on this?

zagfles

That's right - it's a stupid rule. You can't get free school meals if you entitled to WTC, period - even though WTC is meant to be for adult support not child support. But a non-working single parent getting full CTC can get free schools meals no matter how much their ex is paying in child support through the CSA - they could get 10k in child support plus full CTC plus FSM.

spoonk1

So how do you not be entitled to wtc ? i thought every one that works gets some amount of wtc.

Indie_Kid

spoonk1 wrote: »

So how do you not be entitled to wtc ? i thought every one that works gets some amount of wtc.

A parent needs to be working at least 16 hours to get WTC.

Jowo_2

spoonk1 wrote: »

So how do you not be entitled to wtc ? i thought every one that works gets some amount of wtc.

Apparently 9 out of 10 families were entitled to some kind of tax credits. Me thinks this is one reason why the country pays out more in benefits than it receives in income tax receipts and why the current govt is looking to slash things like the IB and LHA bill.

zagfles

Jowo wrote: »

Apparently 9 out of 10 families were entitled to some kind of tax credits. Me thinks this is one reason why the country pays out more in benefits than it receives in income tax receipts and why the current govt is looking to slash things like the IB and LHA bill.

No it isn't. The reason 9 out of 10 families are entitled is that the family element of tax credits was a replacement for the married couples' allowance/additional personal allowance, which 10/10 families got before the new tax credits! (although it was only any use if you earned enough to use it).

The reason the benefits bill has gone up so much is big increases for families on lower incomes, especially single parents, driven by "child poverty" targets.

Sixer

zagfles wrote: »

No it isn't. The reason 9 out of 10 families are entitled is that the family element of tax credits was a replacement for the married couples' allowance/additional personal allowance, which 10/10 families got before the new tax credits! (although it was only any use if you earned enough to use it).

The reason the benefits bill has gone up so much is big increases for families on lower incomes, especially single parents, driven by "child poverty" targets.

This is also how I see it.

I also think house prices (driven by property !!!!!! on TV and the web, etc) plus the abject failure of successive administrations to build enough social housing has also pushed up the HB/LHA bill to unacceptable levels.

Jowo_2

Sixer wrote: »

..
I also think house prices (driven by property !!!!!! on TV and the web, etc) plus the abject failure of successive administrations to build enough social housing has also pushed up the HB/LHA bill to unacceptable levels.

I agree that many factors have encouraged the astronomical increase in benefits, allowances and credits, including failure of the govt to tackle the factors that have led to low pay and high accommodation prices.

I disagree that tax credits have merely replaced allowances that were already received to the same degree as before.

I came across statistics that showed the migration from the previous allowance, the precursor, to the current tax credit system in the previous few decades and it has multiplied by a very large degree indeed, particularly in the area of lone parentage, which is a group where it has shot up on the highest rate of recipients.

Hopefully the OPs question has been answered and I apologise for going off topic into the area of policy.

Sixer

Jowo wrote: »

I disagree that tax credits have merely replaced allowances that were already received to the same degree as before.

I came across statistics that showed the migration from the previous allowance, the precursor, to the current tax credit system in the previous few decades and it has multiplied by a very large degree indeed, particularly in the area of lone parentage, which is a group where it has shot up on the highest rate of recipients.

Ah - interesting! Cheers.

What definitely *has* gone up, is the amount paid to the poorer end of the people who qualify. I would maintain that's the main source of the increase - the extra support for the low paid, not so much the number of people benefiting from new tax credits compared to old tax allowances. Plus the allowances were small and tax credits, in some cases, are large.

One could argue it's the fault of employers for not paying enough?! And this is the source of the problems some people have with immigration, non? The depression of wages.

I also apologise for the irrelevance and will shut up now.

Dory78

Hate to bring this up but I qualify for WTC and my daughter is now entitled to FSM, however my circumstances changed recently and I am now a single parent on a part time salary so maybe this is why?

coffeeandfags

Dory78 wrote: »

Hate to bring this up but I qualify for WTC and my daughter is now entitled to FSM, however my circumstances changed recently and I am now a single parent on a part time salary so maybe this is why?

The threshold is something like £120 a week. If you earn more than that you dont qualify for free meals. If you earn under it you do.