Help with what benefits a single parent should get

justlooking2012

Well to be honest the report cannot have been the worst the social worker has ever written otherwise unsupervised contact would not take place, also if nothing serious has happened at the contact in between now and March there is no way that a Judge will order supervised contact as that would be an unnecessary step backwards.
Also for the older child have you been recommended to send him to cams which is a childrens counselling service, it may be called something different where you live.

loopylass

justlooking2012 wrote: »

Well to be honest the report cannot have been the worst the social worker has ever written otherwise unsupervised contact would not take place, also if nothing serious has happened at the contact in between now and March there is no way that a Judge will order supervised contact as that would be an unnecessary step backwards.
Also for the older child have you been recommended to send him to cams which is a childrens counselling service, it may be called something different where you live.

I meant it needs to be at a contact centre as a lot of the problems are to do with the house and people in it
The contact at the moment is only supposed to be just her and the boys but sadly she hasnt taken any notice

I havnt heard of that but ss said he has improved so much but they will organise help if needed but its helping him living in a calm household

justlooking2012

When you say it should just be her and the boys who says that, ideally it would be but legally unless it is ordered its irrelevant.
These other people/person, do they pose a threat to the safety of the boys?

BigAunty

justlooking2012 wrote: »

TBH I dont have a clue, I know what you mean by bidding but I really do not know all the rules. Also I have never understood why someone would want a council flat when they can have their pick of private flats but maybe im being naive.

...

There is total security of tenure in the social housing sector and significantly cheaper rent. Also, social housing landlords have better reputations for repairs than private sector landlords.

Usually, most private tenants have contracts that last 6 months at a time or can roll into a periodic tenancy which can be ended by the landlord with 2 months notice.

Therefore, most private tenants have only 2 to 6 months tenure in their current places which can easily be bought to an end.

Also, many private landlords are reluctant to let their properties to those on benefits.

In addition, no deposits or rent in advance is required to get a tenancy in the social housing sector but the private sector can require £1000 plus or more just to get the key, plus agency fees.

BigAunty

Hmm71 wrote: »

I agree that your son and the children should stay with you for as long as possible rather than renting somewhere privately - if they want to get social/council housing. .. ...

I know the current situation is that the OPs son is overcrowded rather than homeless. But please note that in England, from 9th November last year, there is absolutely no statutory obligation for a local council to give social housing to the homeless in priority need.

Not many people seem to realise that a local council in England is only required to offer a suitable private tenancy to the homeless. They can offer social housing but there is now no longer any obligation for them to do so.

It used to make sense for those accepted as being in housing need to put up with temporary accommodation in hostels, B&Bs and so on, or encourage their relatives who housed them to serve notice on them to bump them up the list, because they were guaranteed a council property. Not now.

See the Shelter England website homelessness section for info on how the switched from offering social to 'settled' (private) accommodation works, if the OP is in England.

I'm not aware if there are any changes to the general waiting list principles when it comes to the allocation of social housing but the Shelter website will detail this. I'm only outlining the change to the homelessness process.

loopylass

justlooking2012 wrote: »

When you say it should just be her and the boys who says that, ideally it would be but legally unless it is ordered its irrelevant.
These other people/person, do they pose a threat to the safety of the boys?

The ss and it was stated at a conference that it should be but i dont really want to give details on all the reasons why it should be but the are in a better environment here and the judge will sort ot the finer details
Its gone too far for going back to the mother i think as the caffcass lady told us it was a borderline care case and they couldnt understand why it had been allowed to go on for so long and that was our gripe but maybe it didnt help with the change in social workers and the lies all professionals were told by the other family

justlooking2012

loopylass wrote: »

The ss and it was stated at a conference that it should be but i dont really want to give details on all the reasons why it should be but the are in a better environment here and the judge will sort ot the finer details
Its gone too far for going back to the mother i think as the caffcass lady told us it was a borderline care case and they couldnt understand why it had been allowed to go on for so long and that was our gripe but maybe it didnt help with the change in social workers and the lies all professionals were told by the other family

No do not go into details. Basically if the social services were really that worried they would of had a court hearing within days and they also have child protection powers that can ignore a court until until a time when you can get in front of a judge.
I have no idea why a cafcass officer has been assigned if SS are involved

Hmm71

loopylass wrote: »

Yes i was as i know they got it oldest child born in 2010 and my son wants to add to the saving funds but not if the mother can take it. We have been told to change everything to my sons name/address but dont have any info on it as its a new thing bt im so glad its in the childrens names and the are the only ones who can get it
I dont even know if my son can add to the money as i said i dont have a clue on this new funding

Your son should be able to pay money into the funds for the children, as long as he has the account details obviously.

There's a bit more info about them here:

https://www.gov.uk/child-trust-funds/overview

loopylass

BigAunty wrote: »

I know the current situation is that the OPs son is overcrowded rather than homeless. But please note that in England, from 9th November last year, there is absolutely no statutory obligation for a local council to give social housing to the homeless in priority need.

Not many people seem to realise that a local council in England is only required to offer a suitable private tenancy to the homeless. They can offer social housing but there is now no longer any obligation for them to do so.

It used to make sense for those accepted as being in housing need to put up with temporary accommodation in hostels, B&Bs and so on, or encourage their relatives who housed them to serve notice on them to bump them up the list, because they were guaranteed a council property. Not now.

See the Shelter England website homelessness section for info on how the switched from offering social to 'settled' (private) accommodation works, if the OP is in England.

I'm not aware if there are any changes to the general waiting list principles when it comes to the allocation of social housing but the Shelter website will detail this. I'm only outlining the change to the homelessness process.

Where we are you have to be on the register and get a banding which my son has but now the banding will be be different because of the situation.
H can then bid for houses and if they feel his needs are greater than the other bidders he will be offered it
ss have said they will help but to be honest we are waiting to see what happens in march before we even think of sorting out housing the children are happy here and they dont need to be uprooted again when there is no need
Once my son knows what he is entitled to he can save a little while his here to help him when he needs to sort out a house

Hmm71

BigAunty wrote: »

I know the current situation is that the OPs son is overcrowded rather than homeless. But please note that in England, from 9th November last year, there is absolutely no statutory obligation for a local council to give social housing to the homeless in priority need.

Not many people seem to realise that a local council in England is only required to offer a suitable private tenancy to the homeless. They can offer social housing but there is now no longer any obligation for them to do so.

It used to make sense for those accepted as being in housing need to put up with temporary accommodation in hostels, B&Bs and so on, or encourage their relatives who housed them to serve notice on them to bump them up the list, because they were guaranteed a council property. Not now.

See the Shelter England website homelessness section for info on how the switched from offering social to 'settled' (private) accommodation works, if the OP is in England.

I'm not aware if there are any changes to the general waiting list principles when it comes to the allocation of social housing but the Shelter website will detail this. I'm only outlining the change to the homelessness process.

In Sussex at least there are still different bands into which you are placed and this determines how high a priority you have when it comes to being allocated housing:
http://www.hastings.gov.uk/housing_tax_benefits/housing_advice/sussex_homemove/