Having a baby? Want £500? Read this.....

Jonni2bad

I'm sure that the Sure Start Maternity Grant has been discussed in the past, but felt that it might be of benefit to have a specific post detailing who can get it, especially since a number of my own friends had no idea that they were also entitled to it. I recently received the grant, even though I earn quite a good salary, albeit the only household income...

In short, it's a £500 grant payable by a 'government department'. Claim forms are available from all local JobCentre offices (they include a prepaid envelope to send it in), or on this page

Fill in the details as best you can, and then get your health visitor or midwife to complete the final page.

Although, I suspect, the grant may have been initially developed for those on benefits or very low incomes, it is payable to anyone* who receives child tax credits (*see below) and it may well be those people who are missing out.

If you fill in your bank details, the payment is made directly to your account, and will typically be sorted within 14 days.

REMEMBER - even if you find that you are NOT entitled to the grant, you will not lose anything. There is no cost associated with claiming!

Finally, if there are any readers who have a greater knowledge of this, or feel the information is incorrect in any way, then please let me know and I will gladly amend the post accordingly. I'm NOT an expert in this field, I just wanted to make sure everyone who is entitled to the money gets it...

DETAILS

Who can get the grant?

You can get a Sure Start Maternity Grant if you or your partner are getting:
Income Support
Income based Jobseeker's Allowance
Pension Credit
Working Tax Credit where a disability or severe disability element is included in the award.
Child Tax Credit which includes an amount higher than the family element

*This essentially means that if you are getting, or expect to get, a child tax credit award, then you should be entitled to the grant. Remember also that if you are not currently receiving CTC, then you may be entitled to it once your baby is born. If you wish, you could wait until you have had the baby, then inform the Inland Revenue, see if you get a tax credit award, and then make your Grant application. Make sure you do this before the child is 3 months old though, otherwise you'll miss out..

How do I claim?

If you have a partner, either of you can fill in the claim form, but make sure you include the name of the baby's mother.

You can claim a Sure Start Maternity Grant at any time from the 29th week of your pregnancy until your child is three months old.

If you are adopting a baby, you must claim the grant within three months of the adoption and the baby should be no more than 12 months old when you claim.

If you or your husband or wife have been granted a parental order for a surrogate birth, you must claim within three months of the date of the parental order.

What information do I need to give?

You will need to tell us when your baby is due. If your baby has already been born we need to know the date of birth, adoption or surrogacy. If you are claiming for adoption or surrogacy, we will need to see your adoption papers or parental order. These should be originals, rather than photocopies.

You will also need to show us that you have been given advice on the health needs and general welfare of your baby - and the mother's health, if you claim before the baby's birth. There is a certificate on the back of the claim form for you to use.

You will need to get one of the following to sign the certificate:

a community or hospital midwife;
a health visitor; or
your doctor.

Will my savings affect my grant?

Savings do not affect the amount of a Sure Start Maternity Grant.

jellyhead

these are rough figures, don't quote me. you get more than the family element if between you you earn less than 24k (having added on any benefits in kind such as company car). the family element is around £42 per month, double when you have a baby under one. i think the figures are different if you have 3 or more children, but for one or two children the cut off is just over 24k. if you earned more than that last year but this year the joint income is lower because of paternity/maternity leave (not sure if it's classed as income) it's worth asking for reassessment based on estimated income for the current year. i am waiting for my reassessment to come through but i don't expect to get more than the family element becuase my husband earns 24 and also has a company car.

susanmc

When I had my daughter my partner and I were both working full time. After my daughter was born and I was on maternity leave we were awarded tax credits. I then applied for this grant and got it. I wouldn't have qualified while I was pregnant so remember you can claim up to 3 months after the baby is born when you're more likely to be getting tax credits.