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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

has government scrapped sure start maternity grant from today?

60 replies

haribomum · 22/06/2010 18:32

does anyone know?

OP posts:
SagacityNell · 22/06/2010 18:36

No its changed and is for 1st child only. Apparently there was a new one that you got just for being pregnant - around £300 that has been scrapped.

SagacityNell · 22/06/2010 18:37

Its the health in pregnancy one (£190) that is going. The healthy start vouchers are staying. SOrry to confuse - i just asked a mw friend to clarify for me!

haribomum · 22/06/2010 18:40

ok now im confused lol. so from today you can not claim the sure start grant unless its your first baby?
sorry to sound stupid

OP posts:
4madboys · 22/06/2010 18:41

none of the grants are going until april 2011.

the healthy preg grant is going the surestart grant will only be available to claim for your FIRST baby.

hth

4madboys · 22/06/2010 18:42

no you can still claim it until april 2011 and from then it is only available to those having their first baby, or at least that is how i understand it!

haribomum · 22/06/2010 18:43

oh thankyou 4madboys.
ive been trying to find out but all the news says is that it has been scrapped!
thanks again

OP posts:
expatinscotland · 22/06/2010 18:43

I think the HIP should have gone today. I completely agree with SureStart only being for the first child. That sounds fair.

haribomum · 22/06/2010 18:45

expat i agree. apparently i am entitled to claim £690 for dc4! that is sooo much money for a first child, let alone 4th!

OP posts:
4madboys · 22/06/2010 18:47

yep i agree totally expat you shouldnt need to claim it more than once.

i am glad the hip grant is staying as i am 18wks preg and want to claim it just to get my money back for the nuchal scan we paid for (would have been free if we lived 30miles up the road)

but it really isnt needed.

the bbc has a good website that details the budget in simple terms

misdee · 22/06/2010 18:50

think HIP is getting scrapped in Jan.

MrsC2010 · 22/06/2010 19:03

WHat about the child trust fund thing? Don't remember hearing about that.

4madboys · 22/06/2010 19:05

child trust fund scrapped but i am not sure when from?

the bbc has a really good website detailing it all, it will be on there

DetectivePotato · 22/06/2010 19:31

CTF is going down to £50 from August and axed completely from January. That was announced ages ago.

When you get CTC, it is higher for the first year of a babies life, DH reckons this is being axed. Does anyone know? I haven't heard that.

1footinfront · 22/06/2010 19:38

Yes the baby element of TCs is going as well.

Love 1 foot

haribomum · 22/06/2010 19:50

blimey thats about 15 pounda week to me. do you know when this is going 1 foot

OP posts:
4madboys · 22/06/2010 20:12

it is going NEXT april and again if you currently get it you will continue to get it until your child is one, but any baby born after april 2011 will not get it (or their parents wont)

at least that is the way i have read it, i REALLY do recomend the bbc news website they have all the details in a simple to understand format

if i could do a link to the site i would!

lenga01 · 22/06/2010 20:29

Taken from the bbc website:

'Child benefit: Frozen for the next three years.

Tax credits: Reduced for families earning over £40,000 next year. But low income families will get more Child Tax Credit - the amount per child will rise by £150 above the rate of inflation next year - at an annual cost of £2bn.

Housing benefit: New maximum limit of £400 a week for properties with more than three bedrooms, £250 a week for a one-bedroom flat, £290 for a two-bedroom property and £340 for a three-bed property, to save £1.8bn a year by the end of the Parliament.

Unemployed people will see their Housing Benefit cut by 10%, after 12 months of claiming Jobseekers Allowance from April 2013.

It will also be cut for people of working age who are in larger homes than their family size warrants but, from April 2011, disabled claimants who do not have a resident carer will be able to claim for an extra bedroom.

Health in pregnancy grant to be abolished from April 2011, the Sure Start maternity grant will be restricted to the first child.

Lone parents will be expected to look for work when their youngest child goes to school.

Excluding the state pension and pension credit, from 2011 benefits, tax credits and public service pensions will rise in line with the Consumer Price Index, rather than the, generally higher, Retail Price Index, saving over £6 billion a year by the end of the Parliament.

The government will introduce a medical assessment for Disability Living Allowance from 2013 for new and existing claimants.

The welfare shake-up will save £11bn by 2014/15.'

DanJARMouse · 22/06/2010 20:35

Excluding the state pension and pension credit, from 2011 benefits, tax credits and public service pensions will rise in line with the Consumer Price Index, rather than the, generally higher, Retail Price Index, saving over £6 billion a year by the end of the Parliament.

Can anyone explain to me what that means?! I am truly clueless!

IveStillGotIt · 22/06/2010 22:04

Is the Sure Start grant going to be for first child born from april 11, or actual first child?
I got one in 2000, when ds was born, but it was only £200 back then, so would I get it again if I had another DC?
Also one of my friends, had her dd in 1999, before sure start came out, so she's never had a sure start grant. Would she be eligable if she had another dc, even though it would be her 2nd dc, but her first claim for sure start?

belly36 · 22/06/2010 22:07

As I understand it, the Sure Start grant is to help with buying things for a new baby like a cot, pushchair etc. If it's a second or third or more child then surely you'd have all this stuff already and so wouldn't need to buy again.

haribomum · 22/06/2010 22:22

not necesariliy belly. not everyone is in the same boat. i am lucky and have kept everything from dc1, 2 and 3. however as ivestillgotit suggests people will loose out. i cant imagine how a single person on benefits of £45 per week could afford a stroller let alone cot, clothes, essentials etc. not everyone keeps things from their previous dcs, especially with a large age gap in between.

to be honest i think this cut will result in a higher budgeting loan/community care grant application. if a person on benefits is pregnant and cant afford to buy a cot or pram surely they will have to apply for either onethe of these?

im not saying i think the £500 maternity grant and £190 health in preg grant are needed, as this amount of money clearly isnt, but maybe there should be a compromise. say £200 per baby for example. or maybe the health in preg grant could be means tested and only given to those who need it?

OP posts:
bonkerz · 22/06/2010 22:34

i never got the sure start grant with my first baby and managed to get everything second hand. my second baby i did recieve the grant and was able to buy everything i needed and more. i think it is good its being limited to first child only but also think its way too much money! My mate is on her 5th child and has everything she needs for her baby due in dec and is talking about buying a 3rd pram from the money and getting a new tent! what a waste!

HappyMummyOfOne · 22/06/2010 22:41

The change went some way but it could have been reduced too. If you cant afford to buy the basics a child needs then why have children?

cat64 · 22/06/2010 23:05

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn

IveStillGotIt · 22/06/2010 23:10

I don't actually want anymore DC'S, it's DP who's harping on about it!!!
I do have most things from DS, cot, blankets, car seat, playpen, bouncy chair and most of his clothes. But if I was to have anymore, most of the things I would need I could get on a weekly bases with the shopping. The only big expense would be a pram, as I sold DS'S one for a fraction of the cost when I moved house as I had no-where to store it 'just in case I have anymore'.
Though i'll just cut DP'S pocket money to save up for the one i've set my heart on!
I do actually think it's a good thing that they've restricted it to the first child, as alot of the mothers who live beside me, who breed for a living, do abuse the system. One mother I know spent her SSG doing up her living room!!! It was her 4th DC so she just re-used everything she had from the first three.
However, I do feel that people who do genuinely need help, are going to miss out, thanks to people like this who abuse the system. I'm slightly pissed off that if I give in to DP'S demands, it will be harder to get my fancy pram! But, it's not a nesessity, we are in a possition to buy one (a cheaper one!!!) ourselfs, but there is woman out there who will struggle, through no fault of their own.