Any single mums on UC, help..!!

[Lina86]

So I've been claiming housing benefits, council tax and income support since my ex has left, which was quite awhile ago, I applied for child tax at the time and was refused due to ex not giving me his new address (shacked up with his new gf so no bills in his name, refused to change anything from my address such as banks and driving licence) only recently I finally managed to get him to change his address as started sending back all letters in his name and informed dvla and so on he no longer lives here, now starts the panic of once informing child tax of his new address, i will most defiantly be switched on to UC, how are other single mums finding it, and have you had any cuts? I've struggled for over a year anyway with just income support and child benefit to live on, but my rent and council tax was paid in full, now I can prove he doesn't live with me will it actually go up or is it as bad as it sounds? Very worried and wondering if I should just carry on with the slight struggle incase UC is even worse! (I have 2 children, a 2 and 8 year old)

It will go up from what you have been surviving on. You will have no work commitments as you have a child under 3. If you are over 25 you will get £317.82 standard element, childrens elements of £508.67 and hopefully full rent element paid as long as you don't have excess bedrooms if private renting.

If that child tax credit refusal is within 13 months then you should challenge it and take it to tribunal. You may need to explain why it's late but you can sometimes apply to tribunal late, even if HMRC won't issue you a mandatory reconsideration notice. The cohabitation rules don't just look at whether someone is using your address and if it's successful then it'll be overturned back to when the decision was made, even if you've claimed UC in the meantime. Your word is sometimes compelling enough.

If you need to make the equivalent of a new claim for child tax credit then this will mean a claim for UC.

DWP will also consider about whether you're a single parent but to be honest they're paying you income support so are obviously satisfied!