To claim a maternity grant, a person, or her/his heterosexual partner, must be receiving at least one of the following: income support; pension credit; income-based jobseeker's allowance; child tax credit awarded at a rate higher than the family element (or family element and higher family element if s/he is responsible for a child under one); working tax credit which includes a disability element or a severe disability element.
A person who is an asylum seeker receiving support from the National Asylum Support Service can also claim help with maternity costs.
If a person, or her/his partner, is involved in a trade dispute, a maternity grant can only be made if the client, or her/his partner, is receiving: income support or income-based jobseeker s allowance, and the trade dispute has been going on for at least six weeks at the time of the claim; or, working tax credit or child tax credit and was receiving it before the beginning of the trade dispute.
A person can claim a maternity grant if s/he, or her/his partner: is pregnant, or has given birth to a child within the last three months; or has, within the last three months, adopted a child aged less than one year old at the time of the claim or had a child by a surrogate mother; or has a dependent child who is pregnant, or who has given birth in the last three months. A dependent child is someone for whom child benefit is payable.
To claim a maternity grant, a person must also prove that she has received advice from a health care professional. A maternity grant will be paid if the baby is born alive at any stage of pregnancy. A maternity grant will also be paid if the baby is stillborn after at least 24 weeks of pregnancy. A maternity grant will not be paid if the mother miscarries during the first 24 weeks of pregnancy.
A claim for a maternity grant can be made from the eleventh week before the baby is due, and up to three months after the birth. If the baby is adopted or is the child of a surrogate mother, the claim can be made up to three months after the date of the adoption order or parental order. The claim cannot be made before this date. If a person, or her/his partner, becomes entitled to income support, income-based jobseeker's allowance, working tax credit or child tax credit after the baby's birth, s/he should make the claim for a maternity grant at the same time as claiming the qualifying benefit or applying for the tax credit. The person should not wait until s/he actually receives her/his benefit or tax credit as the three month time limit for making the claim for the maternity grant may expire.
Either a person or her/his partner can make the claim. A claim for a maternity grant must be made on form SF100 (Sure Start) which is available from local social security offices and ante-natal clinics. In England, Wales and Scotland, the client can also apply by filling in an application on-line (on the Department for Work and Pensions website www.dwp.gov.uk/advisers), although the client will need to print the form in order to sign it. If the client does not have the appropriate form, s/he can make a claim in writing. The local social security office will then send the client form SF100 (Sure Start) which s/he should return within one month of writing the letter. The date of claim will then be the date when the letter was received by the social security office. The client should send medical confirmation of the pregnancy and the expected date of childbirth, or of the date of birth, with the claim. The confirmation is provided by the health professional's statement, which is a detachable part of the SF100 (Sure Start) claim form that the client will need to have signed by a health professional. This certificate confirms that the client has received advice on the health and welfare needs of the new baby and, for claims made before the birth, maternal health. The certificate should then be included with the claim form. This certificate will not be required in the case of a stillbirth when all that needs to be provided is evidence of the birth. If the baby is adopted, the client must also provide the adoption certificate. If the baby is the child of a surrogate mother, the client must also provide proof of the parental order.
For more information, call into or telephone your local CAB.
Please note that this answer is correct as of 07 May 2007