Full list of freebies and discounts worth up to £26,000 single parents can get NOW – how to claim
THOUSANDS of single parents across the UK can get freebies and discounts to help them with the cost of living.
The price of energy, food and more has soared for households as wallets and purses are stretched.
Being a single parent is already hard enough, let alone in the current climate.
But you can get extra help if you’re in this situation, from cost of living payments to Bereavement Support payments.
All the help is worth up to £26,000 a year so is definitely worth looking into.
Here is the full list of freebies you can get if you’re a single parent.
Cost of living payments
The Government is handing out cost of living payments collectively worth £1,350 between now and spring 2024.
This includes a £900 payment which has been split into three instalments.
The first, worth £301, should be paid to over eight million people by May 17.
Meanwhile, the second instalments, worth £300 and £299 will be paid in autumn this year and spring 2024.
You qualify for the payments if you were receiving any number of benefits between January 26 and February 25 this year:
- Universal Credit
- Income-based Jobseekers Allowance
- Income-related Employment and Support Allowance
- Income Support
- Working Tax Credit
- Child Tax Credit
- Pension Credit
If you are a single parent and not claiming one of the above benefits, it’s worth checking if you can.
Not only will you qualify for the cost of living payment, but you will continue to receive help through the actual benefit as well.
For example, on Universal Credit, if you are single and aged under 25 you can get £292.11 a month and if you’re single and over 25 you can get £368.74 a month.
A number of charities have calculators you can use to work out if you are entitled to any benefits.
This includes Policy in Practice, EntitledTo and Turn2Us. You should check out their websites for more details.
You can claim benefits by filling in a form, either online in the post, or you should be able to make a call.
Each benefit has its own claiming process though so you should check online for the specific details.
Or, you can visit your local Jobcentre to get more information.
Council tax reductions
Council tax bills increased for thousands in April, piling pressure on households.
But there are a number of scenarios where you can get a discount, including if you are a single parent.
Eligibility criteria can vary depending on which council area you fall under.
However, you might qualify for example if you are a single parent living with two children under 18. Or, if you are a single parent on a low income.
You should check with your local council about what help you can get and to apply.
If you don’t know what council area you fall under, you can use the Government’s council locator tool on its website.
Sure Start Maternity Grant
Single mothers can get a £500 free cash through the Sure Start Maternity Grant.
The one-off payment is designed to help towards the cost of having a child and doesn’t have to be paid back, nor does it impact your other benefits.
You usually qualify for the grant if:
- you’re expecting your first child, or you’re expecting a multiple birth (such as twins) and have children already
- you are claiming certain benefits, including Universal Credit and Income Support
You have to claim the grant within 11 weeks of your baby’s due date or within six months of its birth.
You can make a claim by printing out a Sure Start Maternity Grant (SF100) form and posting it to Freepost DWP SSMG.
You can download the form on the Government’s website.
The grant isn’t available to those in Scotland, but you can get a Pregnancy and Baby payment there instead.
Child benefit
If you are a parent responsible for a child under 16, or 20 and in full-time education or training, you can get extra cash help through child benefit.
The weekly rates are worth £24 for your eldest or only child, and then £15.90 for any additional children.
It’s worth noting that if you are a single parent and start earning £50,000 or more, you will have to start paying your child benefit back.
Once you breach a £60,000 annual salary you have to pay the full amount back.
This is through what’s known as the High Income Child Benefit charge.
You don’t receive child benefit automatically and have to apply. You can do this 48 hours after you’ve registered the birth of your child.
You can apply online on the Government’s website or by phone or post by filling in a Child Benefit form CH2.
The number to call is 0300 200 3100. The address to send your application to will be on the CH2 form.
If you call you’ll need your National Insurance number and child’s benefit certificate to hand.
You can backdate claims by up to three months as well, so if you don’t apply straight after giving birth, it’s not the end of the world.
Healthy Start vouchers
Hundreds of thousands of parents across England, Wales and Northern Ireland are missing out on up to £442 free cash every year via the Healthy Start scheme.
The scheme is open to those on a low income and designed to help you pay for milk, vegetables, fruit and more.
If you are eligible, you get given a prepaid card which you can use at a range of supermarkets and shops.
But you have to meet certain criteria to be eligible for the scheme. You usually have to be on any of the following benefits:
- Income Support
- Income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance
- Income-related Employment and Support Allowance
- Child Tax Credit with a family income of £16,190 or less per year
- Pension Credit
- Universal Credit with no earned income or total earned income of £408 or less per month for the family.
You also need to be more than 10 weeks pregnant or have a child under four years old.
In most cases, you can apply online on the NHS’ website, or you can email healthy.start@nhsbsa.nhs.uk or call 0300 330 7010.
NHS Low Income scheme
Under the NHS Low Income scheme you can get help paying prescriptions, dental treatment and more.
You can even get help buying wigs or covering travel costs if it’s for treatment.
You are automatically eligible if you claim certain benefits, including Income Support and Pension Credit Guarantee Credit.
You are also eligible if you are on Universal Credit and your earnings during your last complete assessment period were £435 or less.
You can apply if you are not on benefits, but must have savings or investments under a certain limit, which in most cases is £16,000.
You can apply for the scheme online – it should take around 20 minutes.
Free school meals
All children can automatically get free school meals if they’re in reception, year 1 or year 2 of a state school.
But you might be entitled to help for older child if you receive any number of benefits. The full list is:
- Income Support
- Income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance
- Income-related Employment and Support Allowance
- Support under Part VI of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999
- The guaranteed element of Pension Credit
- Child Tax Credit (provided you’re not also entitled to Working Tax Credit and have an annual gross income of no more than £16,190)
- Working Tax Credit run-on – paid for 4 weeks after you stop qualifying for Working Tax Credit
- Universal Credit if your household income is less than £7,400 a year (after tax and not including any benefits you get)
You can check if you are eligible for free school meals and apply on the Government’s website. You just have to enter your postcode.
Tax-Free childcare
Single parents on Universal Credit can claim back up to 85% of the cost of childcare for children aged under 17.
But you must be working the equivalent of 16 hours a week at minimum wage.
You can get back up to £646 a month for one child and £1,108 for two or more children.
You can report what your childcare costs are in your Universal Credit journal to get the backdated payments.
In March, Chancellor Jeremy Hunt announced this system will change so that instead of having to claim the money back, eligible parents will be paid up front.
Bereavement Support Payment
You might be entitled to a Bereavement Support payment if your partner has died.
But you have to have been under state pension age, currently 66, when they died.
Your partner also must have either paid National Insurance Contributions (NICs) for at least 25 weeks in one tax year since April 6, 1975 and died due to an accident at work or disease caused by work.
The amount you are entitled to depends on your relationship to the person who died and when you make your claim.
For example, if you were receiving child benefit when your partner died, you’ll get a higher rate.
This is made up of a first payment of £3,500 and up to 18 monthly payments of £350.
For the full payment rates and eligibility criteria, you should check out the Government’s website.
You can apply for the Bereavement Support Payment online, by telephone or by post. You’ll need the following to hand:
- National Insurance number
- bank or building society account details
- the date your partner died
- your partner’s National Insurance number
To apply by phone, you need to call 0800 151 2012 and you can go onto the Government’s website to apply online.
To apply by post, you will need to download a Bereavement Support Payment form (BSP1) on the Government’s website and then send it to the address mentioned on the form.
15-30 hours of free childcare
The free childcare system is changing from April 2024, but as it stands in England, all parents of three and four-year-olds can claim 570 hours of free childcare a year, which equates to 15 hours a week.
Some parents can get 30 hours a week too, depending on their circumstances.
Eligibility depends on a number of factors, including whether you are working, your income and immigration status.
You can apply for free childcare on the Government’s website.
There are also different schemes in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
Do you have a money problem that needs sorting? Get in touch by emailing money-sm@news.co.uk