posted on Jun, 24 2008 @ 06:09 PM
In the UK we have -
Child Benefit ... £18.80 pw for the first child, £12.55 pw for subsequent children payable to the Mother or Guardian from birth until the child
leaves school, starts work, enters advanced further education or turns 19 y/o
Guardians Allowance ... payable to Guardians who are bringing up orphans. Currently £13.45 pw, payability as above.
Maternity Grant ... £500 for each new born baby. Paid to folks on certain state benefits & folks on a low wage.
Maternity Allowance ... currently £117.18 pw ... paid to expectant mothers for up to 39 weeks, assuming they wont be getting maternity pay from their
employer
Statutory Maternity Pay ... paid to expectant Mothers by their employer for up to 39 weeks, 1st 6 weeks 90% of salary, remainder £117.18 pw
Statutory Adoption Pay ... paid to the parents of newly adopted children, 39 weeks at £117.18 pw
Statutory Paternity Pay ... paid to new Father's for 2 weeks at £117.18 pw
Child Maintenance Bonus ... payable to Mother's on benefit who are returning to work ... up to £1,000
Child Trust Fund ... £250 grant paid to encourage saving for your child's future
Child Tax Credit ... payable to working families ... amount varies according to employment income, number of children, health problems etc.
Widowed Parents Allowance ... payable to widows/widowers who are still looking after children between ages 16 & 19 ... currently £90.70 pw
Income Support ... payable to non working single parents ... £60.50 pw
Disability Living Allowance ... payable for children aged 2 and over to cover extra costs for mobility & care. Anything up to £110 per week
There's also a range of emergency interest free loans from the government & grants to help out with exceptionally difficult circumstances.
A positive minefield of benefits to apply for. The UK system is actually enormously complicated & needs a serious look at by those in charge. Social
Security is the largest item in UK government spending, hundreds of billions of pounds every year. It dwarfs the defence budget, that's for sure.