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.
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
Education maintenance allowance
Further information
Passporting and other benefits
What is it?
A sure start maternity grant (SSMG) is a grant of £500 payable from the social fund which 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 your partner are pregnant and expecting a baby within 11 weeks or have given birth within the last three months;
- a dependent child you receive benefit for is expecting a baby within 11 weeks or has given birth within the last three months;
- you are not the mother and have become the responsible lone parent of a baby no more than one year old;
- you or your partner have been granted an adoption or a residence order for a baby no more than one year old;
- you and your partner have been granted a parental order for a surrogate birth and the baby is no more than one year old;
- you or your partner have been appointed the guardian of a baby no more than one year old;
- you or your partner have had a baby placed with you for adoption by an agency and the baby is no more one year old;
- you or your partner have adopted a baby abroad and the baby is no more than one year old;
There is also a section for your Health visitor to complete on the form.
The rules for SSMG changed in January 2011 and the new rules apply to babies due or born on or after the 11 April 2011. They also apply to babies that are adopted or in similar arrangements on or after 11 April 2011.
Under these new rules you can only get a SSMG if there are no other children under 16 years in your family. Although if you have more than one baby born at the same time you can get a grant for each of them.
Similarly, if you have a dependent child, you can only get SSMG if your dependent is under 20 years old and has no other children
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 your dependent has become responsible for a child (but is not the mother), or you have become responsible for a child you can claim within three months of becoming responsible.
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 Directgov website.
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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 has 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 (including the baby element if applicable)
- 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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England
Your child will be entitled to free school meals if you receive:
- Child tax credit only and your annual taxable income for tax credit purposes is £16,190 or less (you should find this information on your award notice) and
- you DO NOT receive Working Tax Credit (WTC) unless it is WTC received during the four week run-on period.
During 2010 and 2011, there were plans to introduce free school meals for primary school children. In England, there are some areas that are piloting free school meals to all primary aged children. It was previously announced that certain low income families with primary aged children would also receive free school meals.
However, in the June 2010 emergency Budget, it was announced that the plans for free school meals would not be going ahead as initially outlined. Given the uncertainty of the situation, it is therefore important that you check frequently with your local authority to find out whether you are entitled.
Scotland
Your child will be entitled to free school meals if you receive:
- Child tax credit only and your annual taxable income for tax credit purposes is £15,860 or less (you should find this information on your award notice) and
- You do NOT receive WTC unless it is WTC received during the four week run-on period or you get WTC because your income for tax credit purposes is below £6,420.
Similar commitments have been made in Scotland where there is a commitment to give free school meals for the first three years of primary school to all children. Due to budget constraints this is now being rolled out more slowly than originally planned. More information can be found on the website of the Scottish Government.
Wales
Your child will be entitled to free school meals if you receive:
- Child tax credit only and your annual taxable income for tax credit purposes is £16,190 or less (you should find this information on your award notice) and
- you DO NOT receive Working Tax Credit (WTC) unless it is WTC received during the four week run-on period.
Northern Ireland
Your child will be entitled to free school meals if you receive:
- Child tax credit only and your annual taxable income for tax credit purposes is £16,190 or less (you should find this information on your award notice) and
- you DO NOT receive Working Tax Credit (WTC) unless it is WTC received during the four week run-on period.
OR
- You get working tax credit and your annual taxable income for tax credit purposes is £16,190 or less and
- Your child was born after 1 July 2002 and attends full time nursery, primary or special school.
You can find out more about free school meals by contacting your Local Education Authority or using the link.
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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 establishment 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 calculate your tax credit award does not exceed £15,276 per annum.
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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Prior to November 2006 free milk and vitamins were administered under the welfare food scheme. In October 2005 a new scheme (healthy start scheme) was piloted in Devon and Cornwall and on 27 November 2006 the scheme was extended across the rest of Great Britain replacing the welfare food scheme.
Under the new healthy start scheme, instead of milk tokens those who qualify can exchange vouchers for milk, fresh fruit, fresh vegetables and infant formula milk. You can also get free vitamin supplements.
If you are or have been on the welfare food scheme then you should be automatically transferred to the new healthy start scheme.
Generally you qualify for free vouchers under the scheme if you are more than 10 weeks pregnant or have a child under four years old, AND you (or a member of your family) are entitled to child tax credit (not working tax credit) and an annual income of below £16,190 or less (2010/11). Note that you will not be counted as receiving WTC during the four week additional run on period, so you should still be eligible for healthy start providing you meet the other criteria.
There are some other limited categories of people who may also qualify. For further details see the healthy start scheme website using the link.
If you are more than 10 weeks pregnant and under 18 then you qualify for free vouchers even if you are not receiving any of the benefits above, providing you are not excluded from benefits under the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999.
Under the scheme you should receive:
- One voucher a week worth £3.10 if you are pregnant
- Two vouchers a week worth a total of £6.20 for each baby under the age of one
- One voucher a week worth £3.10 for each child aged over one and under four.
To apply for the scheme you need to fill in a form. You will also need your midwife, health visitor or other health professional to sign Part B of the form.
You can:
- apply online or;
- download the form or;
- request a form by calling 0870 1 555 455. In addition your midwife, health visitor or GP's surgery may have a form.
You can apply at any time if you have children. If you are pregnant you can apply in the 10th week of your pregnancy or later.
Free vitamins are available for children over 6 months and under four. You do not use the vouchers for the vitamins. Use the link for more details about these see vitamins.
For detailed information about the scheme including what you can buy with your vouchers and how the scheme operates you can visit the healthy start scheme website.
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What is it?
The health in pregnancy grant (HIPG) was introduced from April 2009. It was a one-off payment of £190 which was made to pregnant women to help them stay well and healthy during their pregnancy. If you were expecting more than one baby (twins, triplets etc) the payment was still £190.
HIPG was abolished by an announcement in the June 2010 emergency budget for anyone reaching the 25th week of pregnancy after 1 January 2011. The information below is therefore for information purposes only.
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?
You are 25 weeks or more pregnant
You have received health advice from a midwife or doctor to help you (and your baby) stay healthy throughout your pregnancy.
You are present, ordinarily resident and have a right to reside in the UK.
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 06 September, the Health in Pregnancy Office of HMRC should receive the form no later than 07 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.
What is it?
The Child Trust Fund (CTF) was a payment made to children born on or after 1 September 2002 which could only be used to start a savings and investment account. Payment was made in the form of a voucher which was generally sent to the parents/guardian of the child. However, the money in a CTF account belongs to the child and cannot be accessed by them until they are 18 years old. The CTF has now been stopped and no new payments have been made since January 2011, but accounts already open will continue to operate in the same way.
All eligible children would receive a voucher from the Government which could only be used to open CTF accounts. There were many different providers of CTF accounts and you were free to choose where to open the account. More information can be found here.
Once a CTF account has been established, family members and friends can add to it up to a maximum of £1,200 each year. The interest received is tax free.
Originally, the CTF payment was £250 for all eligible children. An additional £250 voucher was given to low income families (see below about the qualification criteria for this additional payment).
In May 2010, the Government announced that they would be phasing out the CTF. This was done in stages with children born between August and December 2010 receiving £50 instead of £250 (with a further £50 instead of £250 as the additional payment for low income families).
Children born since the beginning of January 2011 do not qualify for any CTF payments; however, some low income families may still receive final ‘additional’ payments during the 2011/2012 tax year once their 2010/2011 tax credits claim is finalised.
Previously, an additional £250 was also payable when a child reached age 7, but those payments stopped from 31 July 2010.
Finally, extra payments were announced for disabled children, however following the announcement that CTF would cease these were only paid for the 2010/11 tax year. No payments will be made for 2011/12.
Qualifying for the additional payment
As explained above, no CTF payments are made for children born after January 2011. Prior to that date, CTF was phased out gradually with payments reduced from £250 to £50. The additional payment of £250 for low income families was also reduced to £50.
Even though CTF has now ceased, some low income families will not have received their final £50 voucher because it is based on the final tax credit award for 2010/2011 which will not be known until sometime in mid-2011. We have therefore retained the information below about qualifying for additional payments.
The additional payment should be paid automatically into the accounts of those children whose family receive child tax credit and whose finalised household income for tax credit purposes is £16,190 or less for 2010/11.
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 2010/11 £16,190) and you are in receipt of:
- child elements of income support
- child elements of income based jobseeker’s 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
You can find out more information about Child Trust Fund, including information about earlier years, using the link.
You can contact the CTF helpline on:
0845 302 1470 (from within the UK),
00 44 1355 359002 (if calling from abroad), or
0845 302 1489 (for Welsh speakers between 8.30am and 5pm Monday to Friday)
0845 366 7870 (textphone)
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In addition to the above benefits you may also qualify for the following due to your entitlement to tax credits. Further information can be found by clicking on the links:
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
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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 scheme rules depend on which part of the UK you live and where you study. The Directgov website has a useful table which tells you which EMA scheme applies. This is very important so that you can apply to the right one, but also because the EMA scheme in England has closed to new applicants.
England
The EMA scheme in England has closed to new applicants from 1 January 2011. From September 2011 it will be replaced by a bursary scheme.
If you are currently receiving EMA:
- If you applied for EMA in 2009/10, payments will continue for each week of the course until the end of the 2011/12 academic year.
- If you applied for EMA in 2010/2011, payments will continue while you’re studying but if you receive the maximum payment of £30 this will be reduced to £20 in September 2011.
- If you’re in care, a care leaver or on income support, your EMA will be replaced with a guaranteed bursary of £1,200 a year.
Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales
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 2011/12 the assessment will be based on your income for the tax year April 2010/11.
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. For the academic year 2011/2012, Wales has also made changes to the EMA scheme, more information about these changes can be found using the link below.
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Further information about these passporting benefits can be found in WTC 6 Child Tax Credit and Working Tax Credit .
You can also contact a local advice agency such as Citizens Advice or a local authority welfare rights unit.
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Entitlement to the above benefits and schemes can also result from receipt of other benefits such as income support, income based job seekers allowance and pension credit.
More information about passporting from these benefits can be found here:
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