Tax credit and free school meals

[temmy99]

Just wondering before I go and embarass myself whether if you are on tax credit, your children may be entitled to free school meals, its just that it does add up to a fair amount each week.

Not if you are working no, if you get it in place of the old income support you do :)

Free school lunches
Parents do not have to pay for school lunches if they receive any of the following:

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 Guarantee element of State Pension Credit
Child Tax Credit, provided they are not entitled to Working Tax Credit and have an annual income (as assessed by HM Revenue & Customs) that does not exceed £16,190
Working Tax Credit during the four-week period immediately after their employment finishes or after they start to work less than 16 hours per week

Above is from Directgov.

Why not Incapacity Benefit?

You know why but like to make your point on every similar thread.

actually, i dont know why, and haev always wondered.

we dont qualify for free school meals as on WTC

Differs from local authority to local authority.

Call them and check - nothing to do with tax credits, although you may be asked for your award notice as evidence of your income.

It doesn't differ from LA to LA, the regulations are national, and are available on direct.gov.uk

If you are in 'renumerative work' you can't get free school meals.

As Lougle says it is national regulations.

The reason why Incapacity benefit (IB) isnt a qualifying group is because it is a contribution based benefit not a means tested benefit.

Basically you can receive IB and still have partner in full time work. If you are single it generally works out that I.B is generally more than Income Support. This means you often miss out on passported benefits such as free school meals and free prescriptions automatically.

However if you are single and have a child you would generally be entitled to CTC at a rate that will qualify you for free school meals. You can also apply on a HC1 form fo help with health cost.

LucindaCarlisle has appeared on many threads I have offered advice on and always complains what help isnt available to him as a man on IB. Often the complaint is that lone parents get more help than him. Its not helpful and is often incorrect. If he has real concerns about the issue maybe he would better off addressing them to his MP.

It is not helpful for people on Incapacity Benefit to be given NO help and support to try to get them back to work.

DWP and Job Centres need to employ Social Workers to find out what obstacles there are for IB claimants to seek and find work.

If "Employment and Support allowance" is on the list why isnt Incapacity Benefit also on the list?

Income Related Employment Support Allowance is on the list which is basically the old income support for those who dont qualify Incapacity benefit.

There is alot of help for Incapacity benefit claimants. Permitted Work, Job Grants, Return to work credit, Pathways to work (or whatever its called these days)

THere is NOT a lot of help offered to Incapacity Benefit Claimants. You have been misinformed. At one time the DHSS administered IB and they were separate from Job Centres. The DHSS did not tell claimants what their medical diagnosis was.

It is not a Joined up service.

There "MAY" be those schemes for IB claimants. But IB claimants are not routinely offered counselling sessions with a Job Centre disability employment adviser.

The specialist adviser needs to sensitively discover what obstacles for the claimant need to be overcome.

LucindaCarlisle the obstacles should not be financial though, surely?

If you are on Incapacity Benefit, the reason for that should be purely medical. You either are, or are not, fit for work.

My DD1 is receiving DLA. Her DLA would stop if she was nolonger considered 'disabled'.

If you are fit for work, then you need to go over to JSA, which would then entitle you to tax credits, if you have children, which would entitle you to free school meals.

The receipt of free school meals should not be a determining factor in you getting a job . How could it help you return to work? As soon as you got a job, you would become ineligible for them. In fact, that could be seen as a barrier to someone on IB getting a job.

What I am saying is that the DHSS (as it used to be) have not told me the name of the condition which gives me my disability.

I get them because I earn under the Tax Threshold.
It changed this year in my area, before, as soon as you worked over 16 hours you were not eligible.

Bollocks. I have worked in welfare benefits for over a decade. I am not misinformed and you also have a right to all details held on you.

You can request any of the above help yourself. Soon you wont have a choice it will become a mandatory requirement.

have you heard people say how little effective support that Job Centres offer to long term claimants of Incapacity Benefit?

I could have been offered an interview to help me return to work years ago, but DHSS nor Job Centre contacted me.

onedietcoke. You said above that there is a lot of help available and you listed a number of schemes.

But, if a Employment Adviser does not invite a claimant to attend for a face to face and one-to-one interview or assessment meeting then the claimant will not get a solution tailored to his or her needs.

Outsourcing responsibility for your own life is not going to make you happy.

Apathetically waiting for someone to take your hand and tailor you some solutions, while possibly your right, is not necessarily what's best for you.

You post in a manner that would indicate that you have the intellect and capacity to seek out and research the options open to you, so why are you too submissive/jobsworthy to do so?

I have been to the Job Centre a number of times but not been given appropriate advice.

The trouble is with Job Centres is that the receptionists and Door Security (Bouncers?) are not helpful and welcoming.

Now I am getting confused.

Do you have an active medical condition that is preventing you from working? And if you do, surely you aren't fit to work? If you are fit to work then you should be on JSA.

If you want an interview, apply for a job. If you feel that you have a disability then apply for a job carrying the 'two ticks' declaration/logo and they will guarantee you a job interview if you meet the initial 'must have' criteria.

Additionally, why don't you phone them and ask them for such a meeting, instead of waiting fruitlessly to be offered?

I'm going to guess Lucinda gets flung out of the Jobcentre with annoying and pointless queries of the Constant Customer kind.