Housing benefit, childcare costs and one of us is a student...

[Atwaroverscrabble]

Hi

When my dsd (16) moved in with us we qualified for about £30 a week in housing benefit...

We also have my ds(12) and our dd (2). Dh works full time and i am in the last bit of my full time funded phd and so we need full time childcare...

The council has just written to us and now claim they have overpaid us by £220 as apparently they shouldnt. Include our childcare costs as i am not in 'employment' of 16+ hours per week! I cant get tax credit help towards the childcare for that reason too but thought the housing benefit would at least take it into account! They count my bursary as an income!

Is this right? Is there anything i can do to appeal on this?

I would ask them to look into it again. I can;t help on the indiviaual circumstances, but when I had dd I was a uni student and a single parent. They didn't know their arse from their elbow and it took an age to get what I was entitled to. The difference mat be that your PHD is funded so is essentially employment in their eyes? Do you get a council tax single person discount as you;re a student? That could be telling.

I do get the student discount on the counil tax...

its ridiculous students and benefits! me and dp were both doing our degrees when i got pregnant and we recieved no help as a student loan is classed as income so we don't get income support, but we don't pay tax so i don't qualify for maternity benefits!

now dp has graduated, i'm taking a year out and we're entitled to loads. when i go back to uni next year and get a loan again we wont be entitled to anything!