All information available through www.direct.gov.uk www.dwp.gov.uk and www.childtrustfund.gov.uk 

Health in Pregnancy Grant (Ending on 1st January 2011)

Pregnant women may be eligible to get a one-off, tax-free to help with increased costs before the baby's birth if all of the following apply:

• She is at least 25 weeks pregnant before January 1st 2011 (women who reach their 25th week of pregnancy on or after 1st January 2011 will not be eligible)
• She has been given health advice from a midwife or doctor during the pregnancy
• She is, 'ordinarily resident' and has a 'right to reside' in the UK ('ordinarily resident' will depend on circumstances but usually means her main home is here)

It is a one-off payment of £190 for each pregnancy. Only one grant of £190 is payable even if you're expecting more than one baby.

The payment will be on top of any other benefits or tax credits received.

Everyone gets the same amount - you will not be asked about your income. If you are receiving our care you can get a claim form from your Yours Maternally midwife otherwise from your doctor or the midwife you are seeing for your ante-natal care. You can only be given the form once you enter your twenty-fifth week of pregnancy, we need to complete, sign and date our part of the form before giving it to you. Once your midwife or doctor has completed their parts of the claim form, you fill in the rest and send it in the envelope provided to: HM Revenue & Customs. It's important to remember to send in your claim form on time. You should get your completed claim form to the Health in Pregnancy Grant Office within 31 days of your midwife or doctor signing it. The grant will be paid directly into your bank or building society account.

Maternity certificate (MAT B1)

A certificate providing medical evidence of the date when your baby is due, given to you by your Yours Maternally midwife, your doctor or the midwife you are seeing for your ante-natal care, not more than 20 weeks before the week your baby is due. Needed to claim Statutory Maternity Pay.

Statutory Maternity Pay

You may be able to claim Statutory Maternity Pay from your employer before and after the birth of your baby. This is a weekly payment, payable for a period of up to 39 weeks. To qualify for SMP you must have been:

• employed by the same employer continuously for at least 26 weeks into the 15th week before the week your baby is due (the qualifying week)
• earning on average an amount which at least equals the lower earnings limit which applies on the Saturday at the end of your qualifying week

Your employer must give you form SMP1 if you do not qualify for SMP. If you can't get SMP from any of your employers (if you have more than one) you may be able to get Maternity Allowance (MA) instead.

Maternity Allowance

If you're pregnant or have a new baby but don't qualify for Statutory Maternity Pay (SMP) from any employer, you may be able to claim Maternity Allowance (MA) through Jobcentre Plus. You might get Maternity Allowance if:

• you're employed, but not eligible for Statutory Maternity Pay
• you're registered self-employed and paying Class 2 National Insurance Contributions (NICs), or hold a Small Earnings Exception certificate
• you have very recently been employed or self-employed

The earliest you can get Maternity Allowance is from the 11th week before the week your baby's due. The latest you can get it is from the day following your child's birth.

Maternity Allowance pays a standard weekly rate of £124.88 or 90 per cent of your average gross weekly earnings (before tax), whichever is the smaller. Maternity Allowance is paid for a maximum period of 39 weeks.

If you don't qualify for Statutory Maternity Pay or Maternity Allowance, you may be able to get Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) instead. If you have made a claim for Maternity Allowance you do not have to make a separate claim for ESA. Jobcentre Plus will automatically check to see if you can get ESA.

If you or your partner or civil partner are claiming benefits or tax credits you may be able to get a Sure Start Maternity Grant.

Sure Start Maternity Grant

The Sure Start Maternity Grant is a one-off payment to help with the cost of a new baby. £500 for each baby.

If you or your partner are getting

• Income Support or 
• Income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance or
• Pension Credit or
• Working Tax Credit where a disability or severe disability element is included in the award or
• Child Tax Credit at a rate higher than the family element

you may be able to get a Sure Start Maternity Grant. You must claim in the period beginning 11 weeks before the week your baby is due until 3 months after the baby is born. Your savings won't affect the grant.

Statutory Paternity Pay

When your wife, partner or civil partner gives birth or adopts a child, you may be able to get Statutory Paternity Pay (SPP) money that's paid by your employer to help you take time off work.

For you to qualify for Statutory Paternity Pay, all of the following must apply:

• you must be the biological father or adopter of the child or be the mother's (or adopter's) husband, partner or civil partner or have or expect to have responsibility for the child's upbringing
• you must have continued to work for the same employer without a break for at least 26 weeks by the 15th week before the baby is due, or employed up to and including the week your wife, partner or civil partner was matched with a child
• you must continue to work for that employer without a break up to the date the child is born or placed for adoption
• you must be earning an average of at least £97 a week (before tax)

If your average weekly earnings are £97 or more (before tax), Statutory Paternity Pay is paid for one or two consecutive weeks at £124.88 or 90 per cent of your average weekly earnings if this is less. Your employer will pay Statutory Paternity Pay to you in the same way and at the same time as your normal wages. Statutory Paternity Pay is treated as normal pay and so they'll also deduct tax and National Insurance as usual. To claim Statutory Paternity Pay you must tell your employer when you intend to take leave by the 15th week before your baby is due, or within seven days of your wife, partner or civil partner being told by the adoption agency that they've been matched with a child. If you change your mind you must give 28 days' notice. Your employer might ask you for self-certificate form SC3 becoming a parent that confirms you're entitled to the pay.

You can choose when to start getting your Statutory Paternity Pay. Leave can start on any day of the week:

• on or following the child's birth, but must be completed within eight weeks of the actual date of birth (or eight weeks after the expected date of birth if the baby is born early)
• from the date of the child's placement, but must be completed within eight weeks of the date of placement

You can take either one week or two consecutive weeks, but not odd days. If you have more than one job, you may be able to get Statutory Paternity Pay from each employer. Your employer can't pay you Statutory Paternity Pay for any week you're at work.

Healthy Start scheme

You may be entitled to free milk, fresh fruit and vegetables, infant formula and vitamins under the Healthy Start scheme. You may qualify if you’re pregnant and/or have at least one child under four years old and your family gets any of the following:

• Income Support
• income-based Jobseeker's Allowance
• Child Tax Credit (but not Working Tax Credit unless your family is receiving Working Tax credit run-on only) with an annual family income of £16,040 or less (for 2009/2010)
• Income-related Employment and Support Allowance or
• if you are pregnant and under 18 years old

Form FW8

If you are pregnant or have had a baby in the last 12 months you get free:

• NHS prescriptions (but only if you have a valid maternity exemption certificate).
• NHS dental treatment if, when you are accepted for a course of treatment, you are pregnant or have had a baby in the previous 12 months.

To apply for your maternity exemption certificate (MatEx) ask your Yours Maternally midwife, your doctor, the midwife you are seeing or health visitor for form FW8. You complete parts 1 and 2 of the form and your midwife, doctor or health visitor signs it to confirm that the information given by you is correct. Your MatEx will last until 12 months after the expected date of birth of your baby. If your baby is born early you can continue to use your MatEx until the certificate expires. If your baby is born late you can apply for an extension. If you apply after your baby is born, your MatEx will run for 12 months from your baby’s birth.

Child Trust Fund

On 24 May 2010 the Government announced that it intends to reduce and then stop Government payments to Child Trust Fund accounts. These changes are likely to take place in August 2010 and January 2011 The changes will require legislation to be passed by Parliament. Until then the current Child Trust Funds rules will apply.

The Child Trust Fund (CTF) is a long-term tax-free savings and investment account for children born on or after 1 September 2002. The government gives every eligible child a voucher for £250 to start the fund. You use the government voucher to open a special account that your child will be able to access when they reach 18. Parents, family and friends can together add up to £1,200 to the account each year. There is no tax to pay on the CTF income or any gains it makes until your child reaches age 18.

Your child will be eligible if they:

• were born on or after 1 September 2002
• qualify for Child Benefit
• are living in the UK
• are not subject to any immigration restriction

The government will send you a CTF voucher for £250 to start your child's account. If your child is part of a household getting Child Tax Credit, with a household income at or below the threshold (which is £16,190 for tax year 2010-11), your child will get an additional £250 - this will be paid directly into the CTF account once the Tax Credit award has been finalised. Once your child reaches seven years of age, your child's CTF will get a further payment of £250 (£500 if you're on a low income and have a finalised Tax Credit award). To qualify for a voucher you have to be claiming Child Benefit for your child.

Government Announcement on Child Trust Funds

Starting payments:- Under the proposals the voucher and additional payment will, for children born between August and December 2010, each have a value of £50. Children born from January 2011 onwards will not qualify for a Child Trust Fund account.

When a child reaches age 7:-The Government currently pays £250 into a Child Trust Fund account when a child reaches age 7. Children from lower income families also receive an additional £250. Under the proposals children whose 7th birthday is after 31 July 2010 will not qualify for these payments.

Where a child is disabled:-From April 2010, children entitled to Disability Living Allowance (DLA) receive annual payments of either £100 or £200 dependent on the care component of their DLA award. Under the proposals no payments will be made into Child Trust Funds for DLA entitlement of any kind in the tax year 2011/12 onwards.

Child Trust Fund accounts after December 2010

Children born after December 2010 will not be eligible for a Child Trust Fund. But accounts set up for eligible children will continue to benefit from tax free investment growth and no withdrawals will be possible until the child reaches age 18. The child, friends and family will continue to be able to contribute up to an overall total of £1,200 a year, and it will still be possible to change the type of account and/or move it to another provider. Further details of the announcement can be found at [http://http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/chancellors-statement/ctf-announce-qa.pdf]

Child Benefit

Child Benefit is a tax-free payment that you can claim for your child. It is usually paid every four weeks but in some cases can be paid weekly, and there are separate rates for each child. The payment can be claimed by anyone who qualifies, whatever their income or savings.

You may be able to get Child Benefit if any of the following apply:

• your child is under 16
• your child is over 16 and in education or training that qualifies for Child Benefit
• your child is 16 or 17, has left education or training that qualifies for Child Benefit and is registered for work, education or training with an approved body

You can get Child Benefit even if your child doesn’t live with you. However, if they live with someone else, you can only get Child Benefit if: you pay towards the upkeep of your child what you pay is at least the same as the amount of Child Benefit you get for your child the person bringing up your child is not getting Child Benefit for them - if you and another person both claim Child Benefit for the same child, only one of you can get it.

You can also get Child Benefit for a child even if you are not their parent, but you have to be responsible for them to qualify. There are two separate amounts, with a higher amount for your eldest (or only) child. You get £20.30 a week for your eldest child and £13.40 a week for each of your other children. Child Benefit can be paid into any bank, building society, or National Savings & Investments (NS&I) account that accepts Direct Payment. It’s usually paid every four weeks, but it can be paid weekly if you are getting Income Support, income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance, income-related Employment and Support Allowance, Pension Credit or if you are a single parent.

Tax Credits

Tax credits are payments from the government. If you're responsible for at least one child or young person who normally lives with you, you may qualify for Child Tax Credit. If you work, but are on a low income, you may qualify for Working Tax Credit. Nine out of ten families with children qualify for tax credits, but you don't need to have children to claim. You may also qualify if you are working and on a low income.