Child Tax Credits and Free School Dinners

Becles

My son had a note in his school bag today. It says if you are

-claiming Child Tax Credit

or

- claiming Child and Working Tax Credit and have a household income of less than £13,900

you can claim free school dinners.

I've never been told this before, so thought I would pass it on in case anyone here can claim.

Fran

On the QCA website it says not entitled if receiving Working Tax Credits, also a couple of other regional government sites said the same. Perhaps the school has got the info wrong? I would ring your local authority to check.

gravitytolls

You can be receiving child tax credits, but not working tax credit for free school meals.

It needs to be income suport, job seekers, disability payments perhaps, but definately NOT working tax credits.

Which is areal bummer cos it would be a boon; althoug considering th crap they erve perhaps I wouldnt have taken them up on it anyway.

Becles

The school must have got it wrong - sorry

BenefitMaster

The school is right. If you are entitled to free Prescriptions, and have been sent the necessary card to show to the chemist/pharmacist, you are also entitlde to free school meals. However, if you ARE receiving working tax credit and claiming for a child of school age, your Tax Credit award will be supplemented to the value of a 'free' school meal every day.

You can only claim a free meal directly from the school if you receive form TC602 from the Inland Revenue..

***Caution - 2004-2005 information which may have changed***
The welfare foods scheme is changing, and this will affect the free school meal entitlements.

Ted_Hutchinson

WTC6 WTC6 Child Tax Credit and Working Tax Credit. Other types of help you may be able to get
June 2005
Says

Free school meals

If you are responsible for a child who attends a maintained school in England and Wales, or a local authority school in Scotland or a school approved by an Education & Library Board in Northern Ireland, you could get free school meals for them if you

• receive Child Tax Credit
• do not work 16 hours or more a week, so you are not entitled to Working Tax Credit, and
• have a family income at or below a certain limit. For 2005 that limit is £13,910 a year.

To claim free school meals you should contact your Local Education Authority (LEA) and they will ask to see your tax credit award for proof of entitlement.

You can also claim if you get Income Support or income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance, support under part VI of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 (and in England the Guaranteed element of State Pension Credit) when you show the LEA proof of your entitlement.

BenefitMaster

[QUOTE=Ted_Hutchinson

• receive Child Tax Credit
• do not work 16 hours or more a week, so you are not entitled to Working Tax Credit, and
• have a family income at or below a certain limit. For 2005 that limit is £13,910 a year.

To claim free school meals you should contact your Local Education Authority (LEA) and they will ask to see your tax credit award for proof of entitlement.

The figures have changed a little, but the concept hasn't, yet.

Your WTC includes an element for the cost of school meals - so they are free, but not free at point of use.

zodiac

You dont get free school meals at college through (and yes I did try hehe)

BenefitMaster

No, but if you are at college studying at NVQ3 level or lower, apply for your EMA...

irs101

BenefitMaster wrote:

Your WTC includes an element for the cost of school meals - so they are free, but not free at point of use.

I've never heard that before. There's no explicit element for school meals, is it implicit in one of the other elements?

irs

princessmoneysaver

I was told on numerous occasions that the Child Tax Credit is to pay for school meals & a percentage towards uniform (although you can claim upto £25 extra for uniforms too)

It is to try & keep the stigma/tag of "free school meals" down, I have worked voluntary in a school & have seen first hand how some kids are bullied because of having free school meals! If you get Child Tax credits the school do not need to know this so even though in a sense you are getting the money for the school meals it is not "free school meals"

I must add that I have not seen any bullying in the school I'm helping out at now.

Yvonne