Paying for 25 year old child

annandale

Someone else posted this on another thread. That if a single parent was working full time and min wage they would qualify for housing benefits. In my area you wouldn't get housing benefit on a 14k wage plus 6 or 7k working tax/child tax credits. You would pay full rent and full council tax on that income.

Wtc might automatically qualify you for some additional benefits as it were. But it's income that determines housing benefit entitlement. Not the fact that you are in receipt of working tax credits.

annandale

I can't edit posts on this phone incase anyone is wondering why I've posted again. Ive just looked up entitlement to free school meals. It looks like getting Wtc does not entitle you to free school meals.

It's jsa. Income support. Getting child tax credits and having an income less than 16190. (believe this has changed now).

Its not being a single parent or even a single parent on benefits that qualifies you for these gateway benefits. It's often determined by income.

annandale

In England you don't get free school uniform if you are on a low income

It doesn't seem like there is a grant system in place. There is in Wales Northern Ireland and Scotland.

If you are in England you have to contact your local council or the school to see if they can assist.

SingleSue

It's the same with school trips, I had to pay just like anyone else for them despite being on benefits with no other income bar carers allowance.

The only time I had assistance with school uniform was when the school changed to an academy...but then so did everyone else regardless of income or partnership status. There was a scheme at one point where you could claim a voucher towards costs but it was only £15 and only when the child was starting a new school, not every year. This scheme however had stopped by the time I would have been in need of it.

annandale

It actually does not take much earnings for you to lose full entitlement to housing benefit. As soon as you go over the 73 pounds a week then you will lose entitlement to HB, if you are on HB and not UC and housing element. I paid rent on an 84 pounds a week wage. When I was working last year I did not lose entitlement to rent element when I was on UC even though I was earning. But my UC was adjusted downwards and what I lost instead was council tax reduction. Its possible to pay some council tax and some HB on very low wages (council tax is slightly different up here, we don't pay water rates, we pay the water part of the council tax, if you are on benefits or a very low income).

There are so many variables as to what assistance you will get dependent on where in the UK you live, what benefit you are on, how much your rent and council tax is and what the local area rate for the rent is.

Maintenance isn't means tested. I think its important to remember that people get working tax credits in the first place because their wages are so low. Id also suggest there will be plenty of single parents struggling on zero hours and contracts that don't qualify them to claim wtc in the first place.

Plus there are many people on basic benefits, yet to see the job centre anywhere near empty when I go to meet my work coach

LilElvis

annandale wrote: »

In England you don't get free school uniform if you are on a low income

It doesn't seem like there is a grant system in place. There is in Wales Northern Ireland and Scotland.

If you are in England you have to contact your local council or the school to see if they can assist.

At my daughter's school pupils eligible for the Pupil Premium are allowed to use a proportion of it to purchase uniform.