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Parents
Lone parents
If you are bringing up a child as a lone parent you may be entitled to some financial help.
Child Maintenance
If you are bringing up a child who has a parent living somewhere else in the UK or working abroad for a UK based employer, the other parent is legally responsible for providing financial support for their child.
The Child Support Agency (CSA) calculates and collects maintenance from parents who do not live with their children — the amount you get will depend on the income of the parent who does not live with the children. The Child Support Agency usually collects payment if the parent with care of the child is receiving Income Support or income-based Jobseeker's Allowance. Otherwise the Child Support Agency will only get involved if either parent asks them to.
Contact the Child Support Agency for more information and an application form on: 0845 7 133 133. The line is open from 8.00 am to 8.00 pm, Monday to Friday and 8.30 am to 5.00 pm, Saturday. Those wishing to deal with the Agency in Welsh can contact the Welsh Helpline on 08457 138091 for general and case specific help and advice. The lines are open from 9.00am to 5.00pm from Monday to Friday. Calls are charged at local rates.
If you are unhappy with the service you receive from the Child Support Agency, contact The Independent Case Examiner (ICE). The ICE can deal with complaints about the way a case was handled by the CSA, and examine the actions (or inactions) of the agencies and bodies within its jurisdiction.
From March 2003 the Child Support Agency began to calculate maintenance in a different way. To begin with, the new scheme has only been introduced for new clients, and for some old scheme cases linked to a new scheme case. Existing cases will be transferred when the government is sure that the new scheme is working well.
Claiming maintenance from someone living abroad
Britain has arrangements with over 100 countries and territories overseas that allow a person living in one jurisdiction to claim maintenance from an ex-partner who lives in another.
For more information, go to the Reciprocal Enforcement of Maintenance Orders (REMO) website. Alternatively you can contact REMO by phone on 0845 345 5303 (UK only - calls charged at local rate), or by fax on 020 7911 7030. You can also email them at remo@offsol.gsi.gov.uk.
Child Maintenance Bonus
You may be able to get a single payment of up to £1,000 if you receive child maintenance under the old scheme, and leave benefit because you have started work, or increased the number of hours you already work, or the amount you earn has increased. Child maintenance includes payment decided by a court order or the Child Support Agency and voluntary payments.
Ask at the Jobcentre Plus that paid your benefits about Child Support Bonus. You must claim within 28 days of your benefit stopping.
Child Maintenance Premium
The Child Maintenance Bonus will not be available in the new scheme. If you are a parent with care and are in receipt of Income Support or income-based Jobseeker's Allowance, you will keep up to £10 per week of any maintenance paid for the children. This is called 'the Child Maintenance Premium'.
Job Grant
Job Grant is a one-off tax-free payment, awarded when you start work and stop getting benefits. You can claim Job Grant if you take up full-time work (at least 16 hours a week) and you expect the work to last for at least five weeks. You must also have been claiming one of the following benefits for at least 26 weeks before starting your new job:
- Jobseeker's Allowance
- Income Support
- Incapacity Benefit
- Severe Disablement Allowance
- Jobcentre Plus/New Deal Allowance payments where the allowance is based on Jobseeker's Allowance, Income Support, Incapacity Benefit, or Severe Disablement Allowance
- Employment Zone payments where the allowance is based on Jobseeker's Allowance
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