£190 at 25weeks

[kelzyboo]

Thats fine about not getting pregnant again but you already have children, in that situation it would be the government supporting them, until you could get back on your feet, thats the same thing, its still benefits!

I don't have a choice to work so does that mean i can't have any more children, thats wrong in every way possible! I didn't get the HIP grant and won't be getting the £500 either, it hadn't changed when i found out i was pregnant but it doesn't bother me that i won't get it but yes it does make things a little harder. I don't agree with people that have kids for the benefits they will get but if people are struggling i'm glad its there to provide help to those in need, since the people who are not abusing it will eventually pay it back with their own taxes and support others in need x

 

[wannabenewmum]

i agree with some of you that ppl who live on long term benefits seem to get the rewards, i have 4 children me and my husband both work and we struggle then we find out we pregnant with our fifth, i dont mind about the sure start grant nor do i mind about the health in pregnancy what i do mind about though is ppl likew my older brother he is 37, lives in a 3 bed council ( so do i )pays no rent council tax has help with water rates and he has 7 children and planning his eighth, i dont care how many children you have as long as you make an effort to raise them, him and his wife have 4 pc 3 plasma tv and beautiful wood flooring we saved 6 months for the pc i am using, they are now in talks with council to try to get them a 4 /5 bedroom house built, it makes me mad, but he says if he can milk the system why not :$

 

[Boony]

Thats fine about not getting pregnant again but you already have children, in that situation it would be the government supporting them, until you could get back on your feet, thats the same thing, its still benefits!

I don't have a choice to work so does that mean i can't have any more children, thats wrong in every way possible! I didn't get the HIP grant and won't be getting the £500 either, it hadn't changed when i found out i was pregnant but it doesn't bother me that i won't get it but yes it does make things a little harder. I don't agree with people that have kids for the benefits they will get but if people are struggling i'm glad its there to provide help to those in need, since the people who are not abusing it will eventually pay it back with their own taxes and support others in need x

Luckily for me i dont have to worry about that my husband has a very very very stable job it is unlikely he is ever going to lose it without it being his choice!
I never said i dont agree with people getting help when they unexpectedly lose jobs, have a disability etc but claiming benefits is not a way of life they are meant to be a stop gap to help you while you get back on your feet. I still dont agree with the £500 grant children dont have to be that expensive! If you cant afford things then get second hand that doesnt come to £500!!

 

[tjw]

I'm sorry but its not up to the government to pay for our kids! Its time people took responsibility for themselves and their actions!

It's not up to our government to pay for other countries either. Not only do we pay out £billions in aid THAT WE DON'T HAVE, but we also plough £billions into the European Community every year again, THAT WE DON'T HAVE.

I didn't ask for a brain injury that would result in epilepsy and I didn't expect to get pregnant naturally even while using condoms and especially after being told by a top fertility clinic in Oxford that I had become infertile due to severe pcos and that it would be impossible to have more children without ivf. And in case you're wondering, no I wasn't there from ttc. I was there trying to donate eggs to a friend who has Turner Syndrome and was born without ovaries.

I have tried to find work in a 50mile radius to where I live even though I would rely on public transport, and NO ONE will take me on due to the epilepsy. Yet the dla which is £260 per month will be stopped next year because epilepsy is being removed from the disabilities list.

I, like many others, have taken responsibility for myself, but your biased attitude on this thread is rediculous and very offensive.

As someone else has said, I hope you never find out the hard way how it can be for others less fortunate than you currently are or you will find it a hell of a shock to the system.

 

[Boony]

I'm sorry but its not up to the government to pay for our kids! Its time people took responsibility for themselves and their actions!

As someone else has said, I hope you never find out the hard way how it can be for others less fortunate than you currently are or you will find it a hell of a shock to the system.

for starters i did say in a later post about people on disability.

secondly how do you know if i've been on benefits before or not? Maybe it wont be such a shock to the system if i've been on them before!

People managed with kids before all the grants were about! My mum and dad struggled with just child benefit they had to buy stuff second hand and buy the cheapest things they could but they did it because they had too. The problem is these days people expect to get the best things without working for them. The amount of people on this site that are on benefits but have the highest priced pushchairs and stuff for their kids is ridiculous!

Fair enough if you cant work due to a disability or whatever but those that CAN work SHOULD!!!

 

[tjw]

Luckily for me i dont have to worry about that my husband has a very very very stable job it is unlikely he is ever going to lose it without it being his choice!
I never said i dont agree with people getting help when they unexpectedly lose jobs, have a disability etc but claiming benefits is not a way of life they are meant to be a stop gap to help you while you get back on your feet. I still dont agree with the £500 grant children dont have to be that expensive! If you cant afford things then get second hand that doesnt come to £500!!

Even the most stable of jobs can be lost. It is arrogant to think otherwise.

I agree however that benefits are meant to be a stop gap until you get back on your feet. Unfortunately some of us find it incredibly hard to GET back on our feet due to prejudice from potential employers who see us as a liability.

I did qualify for the £500 grant last time and did not take it on as at the time despite our financial arrangements, we didn't need it. I did however accept the £190 grant because it's important to eat healthily during pregnancy. I used the money to buy decent food which I then prepared into caseroles, lasagne, chicken and vegetable pies etc. and placed in the freezer so that it would last. This time, we are in real financial crisis due to court costs to secure the safety of my 8yr old step daughter. So the fact that I can no longer get the HIP Grant has come as a big let down, as it would have meant I could eat properly while we are still paying off the huge court fees that were incurred. As I've said before, we go without so that the girls get everything they need. I wasn't going to apply for the £500 grant as we have kept most of Ruby's things that we can use for Harrison (cot, bedding, pram, etc).

You never know what is around the corner.

We never in a million years thought we would find ourselves in the position of finding out a child in our family was being abused.

Anything can happen.

People get ill, they die, they lose their jobs, they disappear with someone else.....

 

[tjw]

I'm sorry but its not up to the government to pay for our kids! Its time people took responsibility for themselves and their actions!

As someone else has said, I hope you never find out the hard way how it can be for others less fortunate than you currently are or you will find it a hell of a shock to the system.

for starters i did say in a later post about people on disability.

secondly how do you know if i've been on benefits before or not? Maybe it wont be such a shock to the system if i've been on them before!

People managed with kids before all the grants were about! My mum and dad struggled with just child benefit they had to buy stuff second hand and buy the cheapest things they could but they did it because they had too. The problem is these days people expect to get the best things without working for them. The amount of people on this site that are on benefits but have the highest priced pushchairs and stuff for their kids is ridiculous!

Fair enough if you cant work due to a disability or whatever but those that CAN work SHOULD!!!

I've just replied to that post.

Yes people did manage before the grants were about. Prices back then were alot cheaper too. I remember buying a doll with my pocket money at 6yrs old that cost £7 and have seen the same doll for sale in shops these days and it's now £22.

I agree that those who can work should work. I beleive I can work. It's just that no one else will employ me.

But why should that mean I get penalised by not getting the help that I need?

 

[Boony]

trust me my husbands job is safe and no i am not arrogant for thinking that!!

well done to you for trying to find a job at least you are trying there are many people out their claiming benefits that arent even trying and most of them probably dont have a disability either!!

yes prices were cheaper back then but so was minimum wage! My point is if the grants werent there to help people they would still manage because they would have to!

 

[kelzyboo]

Boony, i agree that those who can work should, that doesn't include the long term disabled or those caring for them (like me) and i do get where your coming from that £500 isn't needed. I got a lovely second hand pram for £150, it can be done cheaper if your willing to look around, i've seen mum's on benefits with I-Candy prams that is ridiculous and shouldn't be allowed to carry on. I get all that, i only mean the people who have no choice like me and don't choose it/would rather have a job and nice things!

TJW, i can't understand why they're taking epilepsy off the list surely if nobody will employ you because of it then it is classed as a disability. I hope you can find a job that suits you, i know you'll get some help but its stupid to take the DLA away, i'm a little worried my daughter's will be next now as its another 'hidden' disability like epilepsy, seems like the people who are most in need are losing out and that unfair!

Hope it all works out for you and congrats on the shock pregnancy xx

 

[tjw]

I feel it should be done on a case by case basis. There are people out there who genuinely need help. All it takes is to go through the last 12 months of bank statements. If they're going on holidays or buying designer stuff etc then no they don't need it. But in circumstances where people are literally going without the basics in order to get by, then they should be able to get the grant/s that would help them.

 

[tjw]

TJW, i can't understand why they're taking epilepsy off the list surely if nobody will employ you because of it then it is classed as a disability. I hope you can find a job that suits you, i know you'll get some help but its stupid to take the DLA away, i'm a little worried my daughter's will be next now as its another 'hidden' disability like epilepsy, seems like the people who are most in need are losing out and that unfair!

Hope it all works out for you and congrats on the shock pregnancy xx

Thank you

I was shocked to find out they were taking epilepsy off. There are some forms of epilepsy that are so severe that the people who live with it are rendered incapable of walking, talking etc. Lennox Gastaut Syndrome and Doose Syndrome for example see people dealing with over a hundred seizures a day! How is that NOT a disability?

My seizures started off bad, I'd have up to 60 a day to begin with and spent most of the day unconsious. I have huge gaps in memory of weeks or months at a time, but they've gradually come under control and I have now been almost a year since my last one.

I'm desperate to get back to work. I used to have 2 jobs. By day I worked as a Nursery Assistant looking after 2-4yr olds, and in the evenings I worked as a Community Support Worker, looking after elderly people with Parkinsons.

Having young children I hope to go back to work part time if ANYONE will take me on???!! And then go back to full time work once the youngest starts school. We're not planning on any more children, and as the fertility clinic were obviously wrong to some extent, I'm planning on a sterilisation op after Harrison is born, as 2 of my own plus a step daughter now with us full time is plenty! lol

 

[ClaireMuir123]

How can a simple question about if the HiPG is still available disolve into an arguement and debate about benefits?! The OP asked a simple question, the decent thing to do it answer it.

No, the Health In Pregnancy Grant is not available, however, if you or your partner are not working and you only receive CTC you will get Healthy Start Vouchers, which allows you to buy fruit, veg, milk etc.

https://www.direct.gov.uk/en/MoneyTaxAndBenefits/BenefitsTaxCreditsAndOtherSupport/index.htm

Here's a link for you to check out what you may be entitled to, if you can't make sense of it, ask your local JCP or Citizens Advice xxx

 

[maybabydoll]

I think the reason the thread has ended up with this discussion, is because until recently every woman who was pregnant could claim regardless of income/need and people are divided about whether that is right. During a recession this type of change can really hit hard and understandably people want to talk about it. x x

 

[hulahoop09]

I think the reason the thread has ended up with this discussion, is because until recently every woman who was pregnant could claim regardless of income/need and people are divided about whether that is right. During a recession this type of change can really hit hard and understandably people want to talk about it. x x

I agree. The question was answered earlier on and I think it is healthy for this sort of thing to be debated.

xx

 

[kermie219]

why it annoys me is because my husband and I both work, both go to school online have one child and one on the way and are punished for working hard to be better. I just don't know why they cancelled the little tax credit we got with no notice we aren't totally broke but it's only because we budget to the last penny and are very careful and work hard not to have debt. We both work so that we can continue our educations and provide comfortably for our children. but there are a row of houses not far from here where everybody smokes, drinks, nobody ever seems to go to work and they have new cars and iphones there are loads of children in each one that are out running and screaming till after 10pm every night and to be honest it just pisses me off. I don't expect handouts but it would be nice if they same rules applied to everyone but it seems to be people who aren't taking advantage that seem to be " punished" (lack of a better word) Lucky for us we won't starve because of that missing £20 a week but there are a lot of people who will and I think that is jsut sad

 

[Boony]

The tax credits werent taken away without notice. It was in the 2010 budget almost a year ago!

 

[kermie219]

that was very helpful thank you

 

[hulahoop09]

why it annoys me is because my husband and I both work, both go to school online have one child and one on the way and are punished for working hard to be better. I just don't know why they cancelled the little tax credit we got with no notice we aren't totally broke but it's only because we budget to the last penny and are very careful and work hard not to have debt. We both work so that we can continue our educations and provide comfortably for our children. but there are a row of houses not far from here where everybody smokes, drinks, nobody ever seems to go to work and they have new cars and iphones there are loads of children in each one that are out running and screaming till after 10pm every night and to be honest it just pisses me off. I don't expect handouts but it would be nice if they same rules applied to everyone but it seems to be people who aren't taking advantage that seem to be " punished" (lack of a better word) Lucky for us we won't starve because of that missing £20 a week but there are a lot of people who will and I think that is jsut sad

That is shocking!!! Did they not send you a letter to say they were withdrawing it and why?!!!

 

[hulahoop09]

The tax credits werent taken away without notice. It was in the 2010 budget almost a year ago!

Surely people should have received confirmation by post if this affected them though and not just withdrawn without warning?

xx

 

[Boony]

The tax credits werent taken away without notice. It was in the 2010 budget almost a year ago!

Surely people should have received confirmation by post if this affected them though and not just withdrawn without warning?

xx

No because they did it for the new tax year. Tax credits are renewed every tax year so they normally change every tax year anyway and since it was all over the news and the direct gov websites and in the newspapers etc i guess they didnt think it was neccessary, plus that would have cost them alot of money aswell. They gave 10 months notice in the budget that ctc were being taken away from people earning over 40k and that the baby element was being scrapped.