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Keeping Children and Parents in Contact since 1974
State Benefits for Parents
Contents
A Revolutionary Change
Child Benefit
Income Support and JSA
Working Families Tax Credit
Lone Parent Allowances
Widows and Widowers
Pensions
Parental Leave
For further information contact the Department for Work and Pensions or the Inland Revenue.
A revolutionary change in the social security system?
Click here to read a paper we produced outlining our views on this.
Child Benefit
The holder of the Child Benefit book is viewed by the Department for Work and Pensions (and the CSA) as the 'primary carer' of a child for benefit purposes. Entitlement to other benefits may depend upon custody of the Child Benefit book.
The primary carer in this instance is defined as the home where the child sleeps most nights. So hypothetically you could see your children 365 days per year but if they sleep every night with your ex partner (which costs nothing because they are sleeping) then your ex partner is the primary carer and entitled to the benefits.
When the Child Benefit Bill was introduced in 1975, it was made clear in Parliament by Social Security minister Barbara Castle that Child Benefit was meant for 'the person responsible for caring for the children and managing the budget for their food, clothing and other necessities', and that it would be 'payable to the mother'.
The Social Security Contribution and Benefits Act 1992 states that 'the wife shall be entitled' to Child Benefit while parents are together and that priority of entitlement subsequently adheres to the parent to whom Child Benefit 'has already been awarded'.
If you have two or more children that stay with you a significant number of nights per year, then you may be able to get the benefit for just one of the children. You need to make an application and it will be dealt with by the Dual Applications Department of the Child Benefit Office. You can do this on-line or print a copy of the form here.
The current (12 April 2004) Child Benefit rate is UK16.50 per week for the first child plus UK11.05 per week for each subsequent child.
See also the Inland Revenue Child Benefit pages.
Income Support and Jobseekers Allowance
General
As from April 2003, all claims made that include children are automatically forwarded to the CSA. The only reason (Good Cause) that a parent can opt out of a CSA application, is if a CSA Decision Maker accepts there is a risk of harm or undue distress to them or to any child living with them.
Separated fathers often balk, when making a claim for benefits such as Income Support or Jobseekers Allowance, at the question on the form which asks if they have 'dependent children'. The true answer for a 'contact father' is yes, but this is not recognised by the Government.
Social Security rules apply on a week-by-week basis, so a father will not qualify for any allowance for his dependent children unless they live with him for most of the week. This rules out most contact situations, where the child stays with the father for just a couple of nights once or twice a month.
The Child Support Agency, however, will deduct a sum from benefits if the mother has made a claim for child support. At 1997/8 rates this is UK5.00 a week, calculated at two times 5% of Income Support adult personal allowance for someone aged 25 or over (rounded up to the nearest UK0.05p). Fathers on Income Support or Jobseekers Allowance do not qualify for travel costs for contact or other CSA departures however in most cases, if a non-resident parent is due to pay flat rate maintenance and shares the care of their child for at least 52 nights a year, no child maintenance will need to be paid.
Many fathers, faced with travel costs of collecting and returning the children (a total of four journeys if the mother does not do her share) find that they cannot afford to keep contact going, even when the distances involved are relatively short. No exemptions are made in this situation.
A parent with dependent children who is on Income Support, or whose current partner gets Income Support or or income based Jobseekers Allowance, may be required to apply for a child maintenance assessment. If so, they must authorise the Child Support Agency to seek the maintenance.
Holiday Contact
Many fathers have their children staying for longer periods during school holidays. If the children are staying with the father for any full benefit week then he is entitled to claim for them as dependants. However he may not then be available for work and therefore cannot claim JSA. The current (April 2003) allowance rate is UK38.50 per week for a child under 19. Note that a claim for Child Benefit will also be necessary.
Residence Applications
Grants may be available from the Social Fund to assist in contact expenses where 'the child is being looked after by their other parent and a court decision about the child's upbringing has not yet been made'.
Only those with a residence application current but not yet heard are eligible under the criteria. The payment is known as a Community Care Grant and does not need to be repaid. It is, however, discretionary and may not always be made, depending on the state of the local Benefits Agency budget (but a review can be requested if the application is refused). Even if a payment has been made in the past, there is no guarantee that any subsequent application will be granted.
Obtain form SF300 and leaflet SFL2 from your local Jobcentre Plus office for further details. A comprehensive booklet SB16 on the Social Fund may also be useful.
Shared Residence
As recently as August 1998 an unemployed father with a shared residence order - made by a court 'in the best interests of the child' - was refused any allowances for his dependent children by a DSS tribunal on the grounds that 'he cannot be treated as responsible for them'.
Article 4 of the EC Directive on equal treatment for men and women in matters of social security (1978) states that 'The principle of equal treatment means that there shall be no discrimination whatsoever on ground of sex'. Yet fathers who fulfil their duty to their children by equally sharing their care are penalised for doing so.
Child Poverty Action Group
The Child Poverty Action Group Welfare Rights Bulletin (No 145 August 1998) states that 'The Income Support and income-based Job Seekers Allowance rules operate unfairly for couples with shared care arrangements...We would like to hear from advisers acting for parents who, although their children spend substantial periods of time with them, do not get any child benefit'. Write to Carolyn George, CPAG, 94 White Lion St, London N1 9PF.
The current (April 2003) rate of Jobseekers Allowance is UK54.65 per week (age 25 or over)
See also the Jobcentre Plus Income Support and Jobseekers Allowance pages.
Working Tax Credit
Working Tax Credit and Child Tax Credit began on April 2003. They are administered and paid by the Inland Revenue.
Families are entitled where at least one partner works 16 hours or more a week and there are one or more children aged under 16 (under 19 if in full time education up to A level or equivalent).
WTC is normally paid for 26 weeks after which another application is necessary. Applications can be made by either member of a couple.
The basic adult tax credit (one payable per family) is £57.89 per week (as at 25 April 2004). The amount allowed varies according to circumstances. A Child Tax Credit and other allowances are available, including for childcare provided by registered childminders, nurseries, and childcare schemes run on crown property.
See the Inland Revenue Working Tax Credit page.
Lone Parent Allowances
Child Maintenance Bonus
The Child Maintenance Bonus scheme allows claimants with dependent children for whom they are receiving maintenance to claim a tax-free lump sum of up to UK1,000 when they move off benefit into work. Entitlement is based on the amount of child maintenance received. The Bonus must be claimed within 28 days of leaving Income Support or JSA.
In the case of a couple, it is the person receiving the child maintenance who claims the bonus. This is not necessarily the benefit recipient.
Calculation of the amount of the Bonus is based on the time the parent with care has been on benefit since child maintenance became due or actually began. Maintenance payments may have been decided by Court Order or the Child Support Agency, or be voluntary.
Payments before 7 April 1997 are not counted. Special rules apply for retirement, temporary employment or the death of the child.
See also the Benefits Agency Lone Parents page.
Lone Parent Child Benefit
Lone Parent Child Benefit is a higher rate of Child Benefit payable for the eldest or only child of a lone parent. Claims must be made within a month of leaving Income Support or JSA. Special rules apply to separated spouses.
Child Support Agency
Under the reform of the Child Support Agency the Government has announced a new scheme to encourage mothers on benefits to co-operate - over 70 per cent of lone mothers on Income Support seek to avoid making a child support application. The scheme offers a bonus of UK10.00 per week to mothers, while fathers will continue to have UK5.00 per week docked from their benefits.
Widowers Benefit
Until November 1998 only women qualified for bereavement allowances of a UK1,000 lump sum plus a weekly 'widowed mother' allowance. Following a case taken to the European Court of Human Rights the Government has announced that this benefit will be extended to fathers in the year 2001. The new allowance will be worth up to UK64.70 per week, payable for six months only, and the lump sum will be increased to UK2,000 for those who qualify.
Announcing the change, Alistair Darling, Secretary of State for Social Security, told Parliament on 19 November 1998 that 'The world has changed and the system needs to reflect those changes'. He pointed out that under the current system 'widows without children who have substantial incomes can get benefits for years but a man, who may have growing children and modest means, gets nothing at all'.
The end of gender discrimination in this area will be applied retrospectively. Fathers who are already widowed should claim benefit immediately.
See also the Department for Work and Pensions Widowed Parent's Allowance page.
Pensions
State pensions are payable to women at age 60 and to men at age 65. The Government intends to eliminate this gender discrimination by the year 2020. On average, women live longer than men.
The Government also intends to legislate for personal pension splitting between spouses. In 1998 Families Need Fathers was invited by the Social Security Select Committee to give evidence on the proposals on behalf of our members. Read the FNF Evidence to Parliament (September 1998).
See also The Pension Service website.
Updated 24 June, 2005