Grr maternity grants and cold weather payments

[sunshineriver]

I don't want this to turn into an argument about benefit fraudsters or about being jealous of others that we know that are apparently living the life of riley on benefits while others work and barely have enough to pay the mortgage

BUT, I do want to rant about the sense of entitlement coming from mothers-to-be that are annoyed that one of the things to be scrapped is the £500/£190 Maternity Grant.

I must admit that I was lucky enough to qualify for this grant when I was pregnant with DS 3 years ago and was given £500 and I can completely understand why it is being scrapped! Even just 10 mothers on income support - that's £5,000 simply as a "well-done" for becoming pregnant!

Also, there's that cold weather payment for parents with children under 5 that are claiming Income Support when the is very low (I think that it was below freezing when I was granted it) for 3 days or more in a week - get £25. The AMOUNT of parents that I have heard moaning that because they are not entitled to this because they are working or because their children are over 5 years old.

My take on this, is that if your children are over 5 - surely you or your partner should work and therefore you would get tax credits and so have more money to spend on things such as your gas bill.

It has really annoyed me that some parents can feel entitled to benefits especially for people on especially low incomes - not for working parents.

I do wish that I was still able to get the £25 a week to help with my heating bills - but I know I'm not because I WORK - no biggy, and definitely not worth giving up work just to get an extra few quid when the weather turns bad!

Fulltimeworkingmum - probably because you work full time. My DS is 3 and I got the grant, which was the Surestart Maternity Grant because I was on Income Support while I was pregnant. It was only if you were on a low income

I bloody hope so! The Child Trust Fund thing was a ridiculous idea.

RedFlag, if someone needs money given to them that badly so that they can afford to be pregnant, they really shouldn;t be getting pregnant. If they need the money at that stage, it figures that they will be needing benefits at least until the child starts school.

Benefits should be there for people that have fallen on hard times, not people that start out to have children when they are already on benefit.

Having children is a privelidge, not an entitlement.

It's a bit hypocritical to say you're sick of the sense of entitlement of mothers regarding this grant when you claimed it while pregnant with a third child.

Surely you already had a cot, pram, clothes, high chair, car seat, etc from the first two children you already had? So why did you claim the £500?

But other than that I'm glad it's being scrapped even though I'm TTC and the scrapping of it will mean I will never get it. I'm of the view that if you have a baby, pay for the stuff it needs yourself. It is yours after all!

PS as it's called a "surestart" grant I would assume it's to give you a start for the things you need. By definition it shouldn't have been given to any other child but the first. By child three, you've got everything already.

Hi A1980 my child is three, not the third - one is quite enough for me thank you, they are far too expensive!!

Sorry... it's the shorthand stuff on here! It looked as though you had said DS3, not DS 3 years ago.

But then again, you still had a child while on benefits. I wouldn't if I couldnt' afford one in the first place. so it's ok for you not the others.

Curlymama Did all parents get the grant money, or was that just low income families too?

I dislike it because at 18, I don't think that the children will be mature enough to be able to keep it in savings and not spend it

I think everyone got it, like Child Benefit. i'm not sure though, it came in after mine got too big!

I think you're right about 18 being too young to get it as well.

Benefits to supplement a low income are not the same as being on nothing but benefits.

See at the moment we both work, earn a decent salary each and yet would be better of not working or one of us giving up. We wouldnt qualify for these things as we earn so 'much' System is not right

A1980 I must admit that my pregnancy was not planned, and I was temping at the time. When my temping job finished when my maternity leave started, I had no job to go back to and so had no choice but to claim benefits. After maternity leave, I started a college course and I now have my own business.

I'm hoping that in years to come, I will pay back what I received in benefits by way of the monstrous tax that I will have deducted from my earnings.