Childcare/education
Sure Start settings
Grants & funding
Inclusion
Maternity grant
Coping with the extra costs of a new baby can be difficult, especially if you’re on a low income. There’s a grant to help you give your baby a positive start in life. It’s called the Sure Start Maternity Grant (SSMG).
The grant is made from the Social Fund and you do not have to pay it back. It is available from the Department of Work and Pensions.
Who can get the grant?
You can get a Sure Start Maternity Grant if you or your partner are getting:
- Income Support
- Income based Jobseeker's Allowance
- Pension Credit
- Child Tax Credit at a higher rate than family element or
- Working Tax Credit where a disability or severe disability element is included in the award
How do I claim?
You can claim a Sure Start Maternity Grant on form SF100 Sure Start, which you can get from your local Jobcentre Plus office.
Details are also available at the DWP - Maternity Section on their website.
What is the New Deal for lone parents?
- Get to know a little about you so you end up with a job you can enjoy
- Calculate how much better off you could be in a job
- Discuss what kind of job you would like to get
- Draw up an action plan to help you get that job
- Help you to look and apply for suitable jobs
- Help you to find training opportunities
- Help you to find and organise registered childcare
- Help you with expenses that may occur during your job search
- Explain which benefits you will be entitled to once you start work
- Continue to offer help and advice even after you have found work
- Offering a subsidy, in some cases, to childcare providers who employ someone on the New Deal scheme (up to £60 a week for six months for a person aged between 18 and 24, and up to £75 for a long-term unemployed person aged 25 or over)
- Offering young people the chance to work in the voluntary sector for six months
- Providing free full-time education and training for up to a year (up to £750 towards training a young person aged between 18 and 24)
- Helping with childcare costs for single parents who want to return to work or take up training courses
Visit your local Jobcentre Plus or check out the New Deal website for more information including the booklet Bringing up children on your own (ref:LP15, revised March 03). The booklet is also available in large print, audio and Braille.
