Mrs H - Tax Credits. I'm in a similar situation. Partner is a full time student with no income, no grant or bursary. I'm on maternity leave.
Tax credits are ridiculously complicated, but here's what I've learned.
There are 2 parts to tax credits...Child Tax Credits and Working Families Tax Credits. You can only get CTC if you have children. You can only get WFTC if you work at least 30hrs (or 30hrs between 2 partners, one of whom must be working 16hrs at least). Being on mat leave counts as working.
We get tax credits, and the WFTC portion is small compared to the CTC. So my understanding is that even if you decide not to go back to work, you should still be entitled to CTC. It's definitely worth doing. You can get quite a few thousand pounds if your income is quite low, which it is likely to be, at least whilst you're on mat leave.
You need to phone the tax credit office (0845 300 3900) - this is the only way you can get a form. Then fill in the form as soon as possible after baby arrives - they only backdate claims for 3 months.
The form asks for your income for the previous financial year (2010-2011). They'll then get back to you to tell you what you'll get based on that. You then need to call them with an estimate of your income for the actual financial year (2011-2012). They'll then adjust your benefit. Then in the new financial year (2012-2013) you'll need to contact them again with your actual income (on your P60) and a new estimate for the coming year.
I'm lucky in that my baby arrived on 30th March, just 3 days into my mat leave, so my life almost exactly maps onto financial years.
Your income for the purpose of tax credits will probably be less than you think. eg my salary is approx £27k. If I take off the full 12 months, my actual income this financial year will be approx £8700. The tax credit office disregards the first £100 per week of maternity pay. This financial year, I'll be getting maternity pay for 37 weeks. Therefore, £3700 of my income is disregarded. So as far as the tax credit office is concerned, my income is just £5000.
Now, if you get paid for your untaken leave, that will up your income and presumably make you entitled to less in tax credits. Unless the tax credit office will disregard pay in lieu of holidays. Assuming it's counted as income, that's another reason why you would prefer to be able to actually take the leave.
Savings...they disregard savings except for any interest you earn over £300. That is unless it's in a tax-free account (eg an ISA), in which case you can earn any amount of interest.
Do apply! And don't forget to apply for Child Benefit - a much simpler form.