Five freebies and discounts parents on Universal Credit can get worth up to £3,286
CASH IN Five freebies and discounts parents on Universal Credit can get worth up to £3,286
Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window)
Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
PARENTS on Universal Credit could be entitled to freebies and deals worth over £3,000.
With childcare costs on the rise, looking after growing tots can be challenging.
Sign up for Scottish Sun
newsletter
Sign up
1
Family Nature Walk: Parents and Children Enjoying Summer Forest Stroll
Credit: Getty
But for struggling families there may be some extra cash and perks they can get their hands on - some of which they may never had heard of.
Here is what is available...
PREGNANCY GRANT - £500
New parents can claim this one-off grant within 11 weeks of the baby's due date or up to six months after the baby is born.
It's a payment worth £500 to help with the cost of having a child.
Parents will need to print out and fill in the Sure Start Maternity Grant (SF100) claim form and have it signed by a doctor or midwife.
You could qualify for the Sure Start Maternity grant if you're claiming benefits and expecting your first child.
You can also qualify if you have children already and are expecting twins or triplets.
HEALTHY START - £442
New or expectant parents can get up to £442 worth of free food a year through the Healthy Start scheme.
Anyone more than 10 weeks pregnant or with a child under four years old and on benefits can apply online or via email.
The scheme issues parents with a card they can use in supermarkets, which gives them free access to milk, frozen and tinned fruit and vegetables and tinned pulses.
Disability benefit explained - what you can claim
The full list of benefits qualifying you for the scheme is:
Income Support
Income-based Jobseeker's Allowance
Income-related Employment and Support Allowance
Child Tax Credit with a family income of £16,190 or less per year
Pension Credit
Universal Credit with no earned income or total earned income of £408 or less per month for the family
Parents can also apply for the scheme if you are under 18 and not on any benefits.
You can find out more about the scheme in our full guide.
FREE CHILDCARE - £1,739
Parents on Universal Credit may also be entitled to help with childcare costs.
You'll need to be working - and your partner if you live with them - or have a job offer.
But it doesn't matter how many hours you or your partner work.
You can get 85 per cent of your expenses paid each month up to a maximum of £1,014 for one child or £1,739 for two or more kids.
FREE SCHOOL MEALS - £500
Children whose parents receive income support such as Universal Credit, Job seeker's Allowance and Child Tax Credits can receive free school meals.
How you apply depends on your personal circumstances - some people may be able to via their local council, while others might have to speak to their children's school directly.
Type your postcode into the Government's website to see who to contact and how to apply at gov.uk/apply-free-school-meals.
The exact amount you'll get depends on where you live, but the help is worth around £460 on average per child per year, according to the Institute for Fiscal Studies.
If you're eligible for free school meals, you may also get similar help during school holidays including Christmas and Easter, as well as half terms.
If your child is eligible for free school meals, they'll also qualify for the Holiday Activity and Food Programme offering kids free activities to take part in outside of school.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The National
42 minutes ago
- The National
Gilt yields spike following Rachel Reeves's tears during PMQs
Her sister Ellie Reeves, also an MP, was seen holding her hand as she left the chamber on Wednesday. Following PMQs ten-year gilt yields, which move inversely to the price of UK Government bonds and affect the cost of borrowing for the government, rose above 4.6%. (Image: UK Parliament) Reeves is facing intense scrutiny over her handling of public finances after the welfare bill was watered down, with rebel Labour backbenchers reportedly claiming the Chancellor intervened on reforms and looked for quick savings ahead of the Spring Statement. Labour's welfare U-turn last night will cost the UK Government £3 billion extra, according to the Resolution Foundation, while the restoration of winter fuel payments will add a further £1.3bn to government bills. Following the Spring Statement, economists warned that Reeves had left herself too little headroom, leaving public finances on shaky ground. The Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) also warned that extra spending commitments would lead to tax rises. Meanwhile, City analysts have previously estimated that the government could be forced to raise in excess of £20bn in order to restore her fiscal buffer. Other economists have suggested that the Chancellor could revise fiscal rules to allow for more spending, but higher borrowing commitments could rattle bond markets, with current debt interest payments set to total £104bn, more than double the levels seen in the 2010s.
The Herald Scotland
an hour ago
- The Herald Scotland
Why Reeves was left in tears at Prime Minister's Questions
The Chancellor, in the words of Kemi Badenoch, looked 'absolutely miserable.' No wonder. Sir Keir Starmer's last-minute decision to gut his Universal Credit and Personal Independence Payment Bill has left her with tough choices ahead. Read More: The Bill was supposed to bring down welfare spending by £5 billion — now it's going to cost millions. It has also undermined the Chancellor's position. She faced down Cabinet opposition to the reforms, telling reporters during a visit to Babcock in Rosyth in March that the Government needed to 'get a grip' on the ballooning welfare bill. Tuesday's last-minute decision to U-turn on plans to make it tougher to apply for Personal Independence Payment leaves her with no grip at all. If she wants to keep her fiscal rule — that current spending must be paid for from tax receipts — she now only really has two options: hike taxes, or implement swingeing spending cuts. 'Labour MPs are going on the record saying that the Chancellor is toast, and the reality is that she is a human shield for his incompetence,' said Badenoch during PMQs. 'In January, he said that she would be in post until the next election. Will she really?' she asked. Sir Keir, incredibly, avoided the question. It was only an hour later that No 10 said the Chancellor is going nowhere. 'The Chancellor is going nowhere. She has the Prime Minister's full backing,' a spokesperson said. 'He has said it plenty of times — he doesn't need to repeat it every time the Leader of the Opposition speculates about Labour politicians. 'The Chancellor and the Prime Minister are focused entirely on delivering for working people. 'It's thanks to the Chancellor's management of the economy that we managed to restore stability, which has led to four interest rate cuts, wages rising faster than inflation, and she recently delivered a spending review that invested in Britain's national renewal.' As the Government — with its 165-seat majority — stumbles towards its first year in office, battered by U-turns, self-inflicted wounds, it does not necessarily feel like stability has been restored. And there aren't just questions over the future of the Chancellor but the Prime Minister himself. Bookies Coral have Sir Keir odds-on at 8/11 not to be leader of Labour at the next general election.
Sky News
an hour ago
- Sky News
Emotional Reeves a painful watch - and a reminder of tough decisions ahead
It is hard to think of a PMQs like it - it was a painful watch. The prime minister battled on, his tone assured, even if his actual words were not always convincing. But it was the chancellor next to him that attracted the most attention. Rachel Reeves looked visibly upset. It is hard to know for sure right now what was going on behind the scenes, the reasons - predictable or otherwise - why she appeared to be emotional, but it was noticeable and it was difficult to watch. Her spokesperson says it was a personal matter that they will not be getting into. Even Kemi Badenoch, not usually the most nimble PMQs performer, singled her out. "She looks absolutely miserable," she said. Anyone wondering if Kemi Badenoch can kick a dog when it's down has their answer today. The Tory leader asked the PM if he could guarantee his chancellor's future: he could not. "She has delivered, and we are grateful for it," Sir Keir said, almost sounding like he was speaking in the past tense. It is important to say: Rachel Reeves's face during one PMQs session is not enough to tell us everything, or even anything, we need to know. But given the government has just faced its most bruising week yet, it was hard not to speculate. The prime minister's spokesperson has said since PMQs that the chancellor has not offered her resignation and is not going anywhere. But Rachel Reeves has surely seen an omen of the impossible decisions ahead. How will she plug the estimated £5.5bn hole left by the welfare climbdown in the nation's finances? Will she need to tweak her iron clad fiscal rules? Will she come back for more tax rises? What message does all of this send to the markets? If a picture tells us a thousand words, Rachel Reeves's face will surely be blazoned on the front pages tomorrow as a warning that no U-turn goes unpunished.
