To ask you to help me work this out?

[Lulu2021]

My head is a mess as I'm going through some relationship difficulties with a young baby and I'm trying to make sense of my entitlement to financial help.

I've done a UC calculation a few times but it comes out with an amount that i think is an overestimate.

My details are;

• FT salary of £47,126, net monthly income £2,516 after deductions.
• 2 DC (ages 15 years and 6 months) - no childcare costs for eldest, costs of £700 pm for youngest when I go back to work from mat leave.
• child maintenance of £120 pm for the eldest child only.
• private rented property
• no other benefits claimed
• no significant savings

It's telling me I'd be entitled to in the region of £650 pm as a single parent. Does this sound right? Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

@Lulu2021

I'm sure posters said that once your eldest turns 16, you will be elegible for a 3 bed opposed to a 2 bed

Yes - but I'm not sure what difference this make to my calculations? I'm planning to rent a 3 bed house regardless, as soon as I leave. So I'm wondering what will change after my DD turns 16? I'm not sure whether that makes sense!

When she turns 16 you will get the 3 bedroomed LHA rate on your Uc claim. Until then you would only get two bedroomed rate.

I earn £43k as single parent ( no maintenance- only income is my wage).
I am not entitled to any benefits, nor do I think I should be.

@MiddlesexGirl

When your DD turns 16 she's entitled to a room of her own under LHA rules. If you have a look at the LHA calculator I linked above it gives a breakdown of the rules.

I understand but ..... she will be having a room of her own regardless as we are moving out of here into a 3 bed whilst she is still 15. So I'm confused as to what difference her 16th birthday will make.

@Boobahs
Your award doesn't look right. If you have a child but no housing element, you should have a work allowance of £500 odd. (With housing element it's £200 odd.) That means the £500ish should be disregarded, then 63p from each £1 thereafter deducted from your total allowance. But they've taken your earnings off £ or £?

Unless someone knows of a reason you don't get a work allowance? I'm sure if you have children you get one?! Or I'm reading it wrong, it's late!

Op the lha rate for a 3 bed house is higher than for a 2 bed. It’s because your daughter is entitled to a room of her own once she’s 16.

There’s really no need for you to be so rude to someone who was only trying to help

Just my view. You’ve been rude and snippy when I wasn’t criticising and was actually trying to help.

@Thistooshallpsss

Op the lha rate for a 3 bed house is higher than for a 2 bed. It’s because your daughter is entitled to a room of her own once she’s 16.

So the difference it will make is that I'll be entitled to a higher amount when she turns 16? Even if I've (hypothetically) been living in a 3 bed and paying rent on a 3 bed since she was 15?

[quote drpaddington]@Boobahs
Your award doesn't look right. If you have a child but no housing element, you should have a work allowance of £500 odd. (With housing element it's £200 odd.) That means the £500ish should be disregarded, then 63p from each £1 thereafter deducted from your total allowance. But they've taken your earnings off £ or £?

Unless someone knows of a reason you don't get a work allowance? I'm sure if you have children you get one?! Or I'm reading it wrong, it's late! [/quote]
Yes if you have children you always get a work allowance. Some types of income are taken off UC pound for pound, things like pension ( for example where one of a couple is state pension age or has a private pension income), maternity allowance, carers allowance, contributions based ESA.

To be fair I can't see it all properly so maybe that's why it didn't look right!

When she's 16 the LHA will allow you 3 bedrooms. Currently it only allows you 2.
The benefit calculator should automatically show you the correct LHA so I'm surprised that it says £650 if it isn't £650. Which calculator did you use?

@needtogetfit21

Just untune your TV and don't use the iPlayer. The onus is on them to prove you have watched live TV, you don't have to prove you don't, as it is impossible to prove a negative. You could have 500 TV's and not need a licence as long as they are not tuned.

Also they are not entitled to enter your home to check unless they have a warrant issued by a court, which they never have. Never allow them into your home, they will try to bully you into it by saying they can, but they cannot.

To untune your TV, take out the Aerial and do another search for channels and it will come up with no channels.

@milkysmum

I don't think I "should" be. I wondered whether I might be, to prevent me packing in my job and / or getting into significant debt. I'm very pleased and grateful that I might be.

There's a difference.

@MiddlesexGirl

When she's 16 the LHA will allow you 3 bedrooms. Currently it only allows you 2. The benefit calculator should automatically show you the correct LHA so I'm surprised that it says £650 if it isn't £650. Which calculator did you use?

Entitled to.co.uk

@Babyroobs

Didn't even think about MA and so on! That's probably why then.

[quote Lulu2021]@Angiedx

The LHA rate a pp kindly worked out for me is only £349 pm. There is no chance I'd find somewhere suitable for that, unfortunately. I'd be looking at between £500-600 for what the 3 of us need.

Forgive my ignorance but what difference would it make for me to rent closer to that figure? Also, when my DD1 turns 16 I'm aware my entitlement might change again but I don't fully understand why. Can anyone explain this?

Thank you again to the helpful and very patient posters who have contributed so much - you have really helped me make sense of all this. [/quote]
Hi LuLu2021

I hear you re the LHA figure it is never very realistic

The closer you are to that figure the less you are having to find in relationship to your entitlement
But I see you will already be paying a fair amount above that .

Re the change when your daughter turns 16
While you have children of the same sex under 16 you are entitled to the 2 bedroom rate which you say for your area is £ 349 pcm
The rate for 3 bedrooms is higher eg that may be £400 per month

That would mean you UC entitlement would be higher by the £50 difference in 2 and 3 bedroom LHA rate

It just means that whatever you are entitled to will increase by the difference between the 2 and 3 bed rate once your daughter turns 16

Hope that helps

The bedroom thing is blowing my mind a bit

However it's late I'm sleep deprived..... 😂

Lulu2021 that’s right

@Angiedx

Cross posted! Very helpful yes, thank you.

I don’t have an issue with you claiming UC. There are rules and it sounds like you are fully entitled.

I do however have a huge issue that the father is not contributing fully. Why the hell should the state step in? And more the point why is there not public uprising about the ineffectual state of the CSA. Surely it’s ineptitude is one of the biggest barriers to the full emancipation of mothers (women). Why is this not getting proper airtime?

To a PP - OP does have a housing element so the lower work allowance applies.

OP - I doubt that entitled to would get the LHA wrong. If you input the postcode and the ages and sexes of the children correctly then it's housing element figure should be accurate.
With entitled to you can usually click on the various elements of the calculation to get more information about that particular part.

I don't think you'd be entitled to.universal credit due to your income.

Good explanation angiedx

My only advice is to make the claim and see what happens, you have nothing to lose!

I do wish to add in though that men like your ex partner make me want to commit murder, I can guarantee he's not worrying about paying his child's nursery bill! I can't understand how deadbeat dad's like this can sleep at night!!! Hope everything works out OK for you

@Jangle33

It's irrelevant what my DD's father pays or doesn't pay, as I have learned on this thread. So the state isn't "stepping in" in place of him. If he paid 1 pence in maintenance per month, or £1k per month, it wouldn't affect my UC entitlement.

[quote drpaddington]@Babyroobs

Didn't even think about MA and so on! That's probably why then. [/quote]
Like you say it's hard to see if the award is correct because there's we can't see total earnings. If Boobah or partner is paid weekly or four weekly they may have had a higher wages paid in that assessment period, therefore reducing the award to nothing. Very hard to say if it's correct without seeing the rest of the statement.