Council Tax Changes 2013

Posted by Confessions of a single mum in Benefits for Single Mums, Single Mum and Money

You can imagine my absolute delight at opening my council tax bill this morning for the coming year to read I now have to pay more.  Yippeee – not . Now don’t get me wrong I am all for paying my way and all that and I understand that the government is trying to sort the finances out so we all have to jolly well pitch in and smile while we empty out our purses but what has annoyed me is how my council have gone about it and the amount they have decided on.

Will Universal Credit Single out Single Parents?

Posted by Confessions of a single mum in Benefits for Single Mums

A new analysis by Gingerbread and The Children’s Society says that more than a quarter of a million young or disabled parents will have support dramatically cut under Universal Credit.  The report reveals that young and disabled parents could lose hundreds if not thousands of pounds each year under Universal Credit. In total 900,000 single parent families will lose out when Universal Credit is in place.

Benefit Cap

Posted by Confessions of a single mum in Benefits for Single Mums

From April 2013 a limit will be put on the total amount of benefit that most people aged 16 to 64 can get. This is called a benefit cap.

If you’re affected, your Housing Benefit will go down to make sure that the total amount of benefit you get isn’t more than the cap level.

If you’re already getting benefits and could be affected by the cap you’ll be contacted by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP). They’ll let you know what will happen to your benefits.

What I Am Doing

Posted by Confessions of a single mum in Benefits for Single Mums, Single Mum Ramblings

In the back of Confessions of a Single Mum I am rather busy updating the benefit section. It’s well over due and New Year, new start and all that. There have been a few benefit changes and I learnt of two other benefits that parents with children might not be aware of, Care to Learn and Parents Learning Allowance. The new benefit section will be up shortly. But in the meantime here are the two benefits that I have learnt about.

Universal Credit

Posted by Confessions of a single mum in Benefits for Single Mums, Single Mum and Money

In 2013 a new benefit called Universal Credit will gradually replace the current, complex system of working-age benefits and Tax Credits.

What is Universal Credit?

Universal Credit will be means tested for people of working age. It will be one credit for people whatever their employment status.

Its aim is to be simpler than the complex system we have at the moment where separate benefits are administered by different agencies.

From 2013/14 Universal Credit will replace

In Work Credit and Return to Work Credit Change

Posted by Confessions of a single mum in Benefits for Single Mums

Someone asked me if the In Work Credit was still available. It is . There are two different credits.

Return to Work Credit – for those with a health condition or disability

In Work Credit – for those without a health condition or disability.

This is from the Direct Gov website …

Return to Work Credit is a tax-free payment of £40 per week for people that have, or have had, a health condition or disability.

It can be payable for up to 52 weeks as long as:

Which Benefits are Changing and When

Posted by Confessions of a single mum in Benefits for Single Mums, Single Mum and Money

I keep getting asked what benefits are changing and when. So with kind permission from Turn2us I have added the list of which benefits are changing and when.

In 2010 the Government announced several cuts to welfare spending to make welfare more affordable, bringing the total welfare savings to £18 billion per year by 2014-15.

A calendar of the main changes to benefits and the benefits system is provided below.