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Passported benefits are those benefits which some groups of people are automatically entitled to because of their entitlement to tax credits.
The following sections give brief details of the benefits which you may be entitled to if you receive tax credits (see details of each benefit for the type of tax credits which will qualify you). For further information about each of these benefits contact the relevant agencies as listed.
You need to note that the following sections deal only with passporting from tax credits. Receipt of other benefits can also entitle you to passported benefits.
Sure Start Maternity Grant
Social Fund Funeral Expenses Payment Free School Meals
Health Costs
Health Start Scheme
Health in Pregnancy Grant
Child Trust Fund
Other Assistance
Education Maintenance Allowance & Higher Education Student Support Guarantee
Further information
Passporting and other benefits
Sure Start Maternity Grant
What is it?
- A Sure Start maternity grant is a grant of £500 payable from the social fund for each child or expected child that falls within the definition below. It is intended to help you with the costs of a new born baby. It is paid as a lump sum and you do not have to pay it back.
Who is entitled to it?
- You are entitled to a Sure Start maternity grant if you or your partner have been awarded one of the following on the day you claim the grant:
- Child Tax Credit paid at a rate which exceeds the family element
- Working Tax Credit which includes the disability or severe disability element
- If you are awaiting a decision on your tax credits entitlement then you should still apply for a maternity grant within the time limits below. If you are in this situation you should seek advice from a local advice agency.
- In addition one of the following must apply:
- you or a member of your family are pregnant or have given birth in the last three months
- you or your partner have adopted a child who is less than 12 months old when you claim a maternity expenses payment;
- you and your spouse have been granted a parental order allowing you to have a child by a surrogate mother.
- There is also a section for your Health visitor to complete on the form.
When do I apply?
- You can claim from 11 weeks before the baby is due and until the baby is three months old.
- If you adopt a baby or have a child by a surrogate mother you can claim up to three months following the date of adoption or parental order.
- If you are awaiting a decision about your tax credits then you should still apply for a maternity grant within the time limits above. If you are in this situation you should seek advice from a local advice agency.
- If you have applied for a grant and have been turned down because you have not had a decision on your tax credit claim, you should submit a new claim for a Sure Start Maternity Grant within 3 months of your tax credit decision. If you think you might be in this situation you should seek immediate guidance from a local advice agency.
How do I apply?
- You can get a form from your local Jobcentre Plus office. Alternatively you can download an application form from the Jobcentre Plus website.
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Social Fund Funeral Expenses Payment
What is it?
- A funeral payment is an amount from the social fund which helps you with the essential costs of a funeral which you or your partner are responsible for arranging.
- The amount should be sufficient to cover essential expenses (such as the purchase of a burial plot, necessary cremation fees) plus up to £700 for any other funeral expenses (such as funeral director's fees, religious costs, flowers).
- If you get a funeral payment, it will have to be paid back from the estate of the person who died. 'The estate' means any money, property and other things that the deceased person owned. A house or personal things that are left to a widow or widower will not be counted as part of the estate.
Who is entitled to it?
- You are entitled to a funeral payment if you or your partner have been awarded one of the following on the day you claim a funeral payment:
- Child Tax Credit paid at a rate which exceeds the family element
- Working Tax Credit which includes the disability or severe disability element
When do I apply?
- You can claim any time from the date of death up to three months after the date of the funeral. There is no provision for late claims.
- If you are awaiting a decision about your tax credits, you should still apply for the funeral payment within these time limits. It is advisable that you seek advice from a local advice agency if you are in this situation.
How do I apply?
- You should claim using form SF200 which you can get from your local Jobcentre Plus office.
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Free School Meals
- Your child will be entitled to free school meals if you receive:
- Child Tax Credit only and your annual taxable income is £16,040 or less (you should find this information on your award notice) and
- You DO NOT receive Working Tax Credit (WTC)
- You can find out more about free school meals by contacting your Local Education Authority or here
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Health Costs
What is it?
- The NHS normally provides free healthcare. There are however fixed charges for some services such as dental treatment, sight tests, glasses, wigs and fabric support and prescriptions.
- If you fall into one of the categories below you will get free prescriptions, free dental treatment, free sight tests, vouchers for glasses or contact lenses, full help with your fares to attend a hospital or any other establishmment for NHS Treatment or services.
Who is entitled to help with health costs?
- You will be exempt from these charges if you receive:
- Child Tax Credit and your gross annual income used to calculate your tax credit award does not exceed £15,276 or;
- Child Tax Credit and Working Tax Credit and your gross annual income used to calculate your tax credit award does not exceed £15,276 or;
- Working Tax Credit including a disability or severe disability element and your gross annual income used to calculated your tax credit award does not exceed £15,276 per annum.
- (Note: The cut off was £15,050 in Scotland until May 4th 2009 when it was increased to £15,276.)
How do I apply?
- If you are exempt due to your entitlement to tax credits HMRC will inform the Prescription Pricing Authority. They will then send you an exemption certificate which is normally valid until the end of the tax year.
- You should also be able to use your Tax Credit Award Notice (TCAN) as proof of entitlement.
- If you have not yet received an exemption certificate or you are not sure whether you meet the income levels you can contact the tax credits helpline on
0845 300 3900 (textphone 0845 300 3909 ) - open from 8am - 8pm seven days a week
NHS Low Income Scheme
- If you do not qualify for exemption from these charges because you do not meet any of the criteria above you may still be able to qualify for some help under the NHS Low Income Scheme.
- Basic information about this scheme can be found here
- A detailed guide about the scheme can be found here here
- The scheme is administered by the NHS. To apply for this scheme you should complete form HC1 which is available from DWP offices, Post Offices and most hospitals or doctors. Alternatively you can contact the NHS publications line on 0800 555 777.
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Healthy Start Scheme
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Health in Pregnancy Grant
What is it?
- The Health in Pregnancy Grant (HIPG) is a new scheme payable from April 2009. It is a one-off payment of £190 which is made to pregnant women to help them stay well and healthy during their pregnancy. If you are expecting more than one baby (twins, triplets etc) the payment is still £190.
- The HIPG is paid and administered by HMRC, and it does not require women to have paid national insurance contributions nor is it means tested.
Who can get it?
When to claim
- You can claim the grant from your 25th Week of Pregnancy. The claim form must be signed by your midwife or doctor before your baby is born. You have 31 days from when they sign it to get your completed form to HMRC. So if your midwife signs the form on the 6th September, the Health in Pregnancy Office of HMRC should receive the form no later than 7th October.
How to claim
- Claim forms are only available from midwives and doctors. If they do not have a form then you should ring the HIPG helpline on 0845 366 7885 who will send a form to your midwife or doctor.
- Crown Servants (such as HM Forces personnel) and Civil Servants working overseas should contact +44 292 050 1178
- More information about HIPG can be found on the HMRC website .
Child Trust Fund
What is it?
- The Child Trust Fund (CTF) is a payment made to children born on or after 1st September 2002 which can only be used to start a savings and investment account. Although the voucher is generally sent to the parents/guardian of the child, the money belongs to the child and cannot be accessed by them until they are 18 years old.
- All eligible children will receive a voucher from the Government which can only be used to open CTF accounts. There are many different providers of CTF accounts and you are free to choose where to open the account. More information can be found here .
- Family members and friends can add to the CTF account up to a maximum of £1200 each year. The interest received is tax free.
How much is it?
- The basic CTF voucher used to open the account is worth £250.
- For children in low-income families, an additional payment of £250 will be payable (see below for who qualifies for this additional payment).
- A further amount of £250 will be added by the Government when the child reaches the age of 7. Children from low income families will also receive an additional payment of £250.
- It was announced in Budget 2009 that starting in 2010 the Government will add money to the Child Trust Fund accounts of disabled children. £100 will be added each year to the accounts of all disabled children, with severely disabled children receiving £200 per year. To qualify for the £100 payment, the child must have been awarded Disability Living Allowance. Children who have been awarded the higher rate care component of Disability Living Allowance will qualify for the additional £100.
- These payments will start in April 2010 for children in receipt of DLA anytime during the 2009/10 tax year (April 2009 - April 2010). These payments will not count towards the £1,200 limit that family and friends can contribute each year.
Who qualifies and when is it paid?
- Once you have made a claim for Child Benefit, the basic CTF voucher of £250 should be issued automatically. More information about claiming Child Benefit can be found here.
If you have not received the voucher within a month of your Child Benefit starting, you should contact 0845 302 1470 (0845 366 7870 for textphone)
Qualifying for the additional payment
- Children from low-income families are eligible to receive an additional payment of £250 on top of the basic voucher (making a total of £500). This additional payment is also payable on top of the second CTF payment at age 7.
- The additional payment should be paid automatically into the accounts of those children whose family receive Child Tax Credit and whose household income for tax credit purposes is £16,040 or less for 2009/10.
- It is important to note that where Child Benefit is claimed after 6 April 2008, you must have claimed Child Tax Credit no later than the date your CTF voucher expires in order to qualify for the additional payment.
- For Child Benefit claims made before 6 April 2008, to get the additional payment as well as having income below the relevant threshold for that year, you must have had a Child Tax Credit award in place at the time for which Child Benefit was awarded.
- If you are not receiving Child Tax Credit because you receive a DWP benefit that includes payments for your children, you can still get the additional payment. Providing your household income is below the threshold (for 2009/10 £16,040) and you are in receipt of:
- child elements of Income Support
- child elements of Income based Job Seekers Allowance
you will qualify for the additional payment.
- The additional payment will not be made until your Child Tax Credit award for the year is finalised.
Further information
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Other Assistance
- In addition to the above benefits you may also qualify for the following due to your entitlement to tax credits:
- Assistance with court fees
- Assistance with metered water charges in England and Wales
- Assistance with essential house repairs or improvements
- Warm Front, HEES Wales, Warm Deal and Warm Homes
- Assistance with prison visits
- Further information on each of these schemes is available from the WTC 6 leaflet published by HMRC.
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Education Maintenance Allowance & Higher Education Student Support Guarantee
- Families who have young people continuing their education after the age of 16 may be eligible for an Education Maintenance Allowance (EMA). This is up to £30 per week paid directly to the young person.
- The EMA is means tested based (in most cases) on the parental income. It is important to note that it is assessed on the previous tax year's income. The preferred method of proving income is your Tax Credit Award Notice - providing that it shows the previous year's household income.
- For example: For an EMA to cover the academic year September 2009/10 the assessment will be based on your income for the tax year April 2008/09.
- Each country of the UK has its own website providing details of the Education Maintenance Allowance. Please use the link that relates to the part of the UK where you study as the requirements and income qualification rules do differ.
Higher Education Student Support Guarantee (HESSG)
It is intended the HESSG will be introduced from September 2008 for 16 year-olds who qualify for an Education Maintenance Allowance.
The HESSG will be available if you:
- got you first EMA payment in or after September 2008
- got your EMA for a course based at school, college or work (but not if you did an Entry to Employment course)
- live in England
You'll also need to meet the usual eligibility rules for higher education financial support.
You can use this link to get full details about HESSG and whether you are likely to qualify.
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Further Information
- Further information about these passporting benefits can be found in WTC 6 Child Tax Credit and Working Tax Credit .
- You can also get further advice from the tax credit helpline. In addition you can contact a local advice agency.
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Passporting and other benefits
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