Do you think it right that people on benefits get a payment when pregnant to buy the baby's cot ,pram etc?

Question

I overheard two people while i was in the post office discussing the payment which i have been told is £1000, i though here's me who works my butt of and cant afford to have more kids but they ae talking about getting this payment just for being pregnant to buy the stuff ,the systems all wrong.

Pink dragon how long ago... ihave an 8 year old and i didnt get it back then

Ok maybe i got i a little wrong but you didnt get it 8 years ago when i was pregnant if people on benefits are getting everyone should be entitled to it, just because people work doesnt mean they have more money than someone on benefits.x

Im not saying everyone on benefits is a scronger but should it not be that benefit should be payed out to people who have child after child not to be allowed to contiue to claim for more children?

Answer 1

No it's not right at all.If they can't afford to provide for the children then they shouldn't have them.They are usually the chav types you see in the shopping centres all wheeling top of the range prams with their offspring decked out in designer gear.

Answer 2

OK Every pregnant woman or partner of a pregnant woman, they have to decide who is going to cliam is entitled to a Sure Start maternity grant in all of the UK and the form has to be signed and stamped by your midwife and the amount is £500 per child so anyone expecting twins would have been entitled to receive £1000, I have been told that it only became known as the Sure Start maternity grant about 3 years ago but before that it was something else and pre 1997 was only available to people on benefits, however it is now available to all expecting a baby but can't be claimed until 11 weeks before the due date and then up to 3 months after birth, after which you lose your entitlement to claim.

The £250 voucher that Pinkdragon is refering to is The Child Trust Fund, and has been given to each child born after september 2003, a new thing that the government has come up with, to enable the "children of tomorrow" something to start their life with, and it becomes avaialable to them on their 18th birthday, until then it is in the care of the parent, and there is a maximum of £1500 allowed to be deposited into the account each year, if you are a low income family, or on benefits, there is an additional payment of £250 when the child turns 1 and if when the child is aged 7, you are still in the low income bracket or on beneifits there is again another aditional £250, this si so that low income parents or benefit parents who can't afford to add to their childs trust fund, the child will still have £750 plus 18 yrs worth of interest to draw on at 18, and then there is going to be a descretion form sent to the parent who opened the account for the child and to decide if they wish to give access to the child or to wait a while longer, and I think the latest the trust fund can be released to the child is when they reach age 25.

Answer 3

Its called a Mternity Grant and is £500 NOT 1000.
It is not just for people who dont work, but also people on a low enough income to receive the Child Tax element of New Tax Credits.
Not everyone on benefits is there because they are lazy. Some people have no choice. My partner is disabled and is unable to work, I work as much as I can but have to care for him and our daughter too.
If you think about it in context, it is enough to get a couple of the big things you need for a baby. It doesnt mean you dont have to find money yourself for the rest, which costs a small fortune if you tally it all up.
Its therefore not an incentive to have children, more of a helping hand. If it wasnt there people on benefits and lower incomes would still have children. It is about family not who has enough money, you find the money for what you need somehow, usually be getting bargains or going without yourself.
Also it is not just for being pregnant, you can apply 3 months before the date child is due and 3 months after the child is born. It is means tested and thus paid to those in need. You could be on a high income but if you have enough childrent o qualify for Child Tax element will still get it.
If you arent entitled to it, then youre not in the position to need it, without it some people would have great difficulty getting together everything they need, also in the days when a new mattress is essential because of the risks of cot death, and car seats, you cant rely on hand me downs or second hand stuff.

Answer 4

you are talking about the sure start maternity grant i expect, im sure it is £500 though. yes i do think it is right, not everybody is able to work. what would you prefer to happen?them not to have any money? if you are on benefits you dont get that much money and with out the grant buying essential things for a baby would be near enough impossibe. should a child be made to suffer because its parents dont have much money? be made to go with out a bed and essential equipment?
i am speaking as a person who when i had my first child i was on benefits and did get the grant. with out this grant i wouldnt have been able to afford anything. i was claiming income support and only got £30 something a week to live on.
i am also speaking as a person who now works and has done for years and since had another child that i have worked to pay for. so i pay my taxes and i pay for ppl on benefits and still i think the grant is a good thing. there is always a handful of ppl that abuse the system and dont even spend the money on the baby. but for most people with out the grant they would be lost.

Answer 5

hi hun i think the whole system needs to e looked at, an old friend of mine got a brand new two bed house paid for with a £2000 cheque to furnish it (even though she had furniture) and then £1000 to buy stuff for her unborn baby.
but she wanted the house and money so she got pregnant down an alley outside a nightclub.
she then went and blew all the money on clothes and booze for herself and then told my best mate she hadnt had any money so could she have her pram and baby bath and any clothes etc?
and to top things off moved her new man in without telling the government and still claimed rent and council tax help while he workd full time.

im glad to say im no longer friends with her as she took the p*ss out of people who work hard or cant work for whatever reason and struggle

I think the system needs to be more aware of what the money is being spent on, my hubby works in excess of 80 hours a week and im about to start full time work and let my mum look after my daughter as i cant afford to live but because my hubby is £10 over the tax credits bracket we get no help.


But good luck to all the genuine single mums out there bringing up children who find it hard financially at times.

Answer 6

Despite what popular opinion would have the masses believe not everyone on benefits is living in the lap of luxury/scrounging/doesn't deserve it & any other lame excuse you can come up with.

There are some people out there who genuinely need those benefits & have no other way of supporting themselves due to lack of education or experience & this, above everything else makes it hard to get a job.

Granted some don't work for the sake of it but to say that that is everyone on benefits is a dramatic generalisation.

I'm unemployed at the moment & not through choice. Ok, I don't have children & I'm not planning on having any in the future but I depend on the small amount I receive each week to live, which I can do at barely £45 a week, so its not only you that struggles.

Who are you to decide if that baby is born in to poverty that it doesn't have the right to basic things it needs to be cared for? Its not like this money is being given to the parents to go & live it up, drinking booze & rolling in at 3am.

Like most benefits these things are means tested, some working families also receive some sort of tax credits to top up their earnings to care for their children. Its not about affording to have more children but being able to care for the basic needs of a child if it does come into this world, and I completely agree with that.

The system isn't wrong, its helping those that need it most & you should feel lucky that you have a job & can work because its something I would die to have a the moment & would love to be able to sit & moan at how hard I'm working. Although I doubt I'd be criticising those less fortunate than I.

Answer 7

I had a payment for £500 dont think its gone up to £1000,i got it and i get family tax credit plus my husband works so i dont think its just for people on benefits.

My son was born this january i did get it when my daughter was born but it was only £100 then that was 9 yrs ago.My son had the £250 voucher to open bank account which my other 2 kids didnt get which myself and my husband have to fork out £500 so we can put £250 in the others accounts to make it fair.

Answer 8

well im currently 31 weeks preg with twins and the grant is £500 per child so i would recieve £1000 my husband works all the hours god sends and i work too but only part time cause i already have a little girl and i may not be intitled to it because they say we earn too much but we dont we earn enough to just get by so that £1000 would be really really helpfull to us but hey life is cruel so people who are on benifits who dont work get it just like that is a little annoying . Ive been waiting a week now to see weatherim intitled to it or not

Answer 9

Its £500

So say your daughter falls pregnant and her man leaves and no 1 will employ her because she is pregnant would you not be sitting thinking that she should get some government help.

I sympathise with you when people are sitting on benefits because they dont want to work. But these benefits are in place for people who cant work or cant find work.

Right now im on benefits and believe me its no picnic 120 a fortnight only goes so far. We are not all out to cheat tax payers

Answer 10

I think everyone below a certain threshold should get it, not just people on benefits.
Iget child tax credits and working tax credits plus my wages, but altogether that only comes to 14000 a year, after rent thats not much. I could really do with that 500 pounds too, but I dont qualify

Answer 11

for garments - you could save around on line yet a competent place to start is the supermarkets like Asda/Asda residing and Tesco. you additionally can try abode deals once you're chuffed to pound the streets. For the bigger belongings you may try John Lewis - i presumed that they had be somewhat high priced yet they seem to have a competent variety. yet as you do have fairly time i could shop an eye fixed out for the sales - Debenhams usually have 20% off days each so usually.