Benefits and entitlements to claim when you have a baby

The government also offers a benefits calculator to show what can be claimed. Another calculator shows what could be claimed for approved childcare.

Bereavement Support Payment

If one parent has died, their partner may be able to get the Bereavement Support Payment (Gov.uk, no date a).

Care to Learn scheme and Parents’ Learning Allowance

Parents under 20 years old and studying might be able to get financial help from the Care to Learn scheme (Gov.uk, no date b).

The scheme is for publicly funded courses, such as schools and sixth form colleges. It doesn’t affect other benefits or allowances (Gov.uk, no date b).

Full-time students may also qualify for the Parents’ Learning Allowance (Gov.uk, no date c).

Child Benefit

Child Benefit can be claimed from birth until the child is 16 (or 20 if in full-time education).

There’s no limit to how many children can be claimed for, and the benefit is paid to one parent (Gov.uk, no date d).

Claiming Child Benefit brings National Insurance credits for the parent receiving the payment. This can be useful when a parent is stopping or pausing work while caring for the child, as it builds statutory pension entitlement. So, even if not claiming the payment, it can be beneficial to make a claim. Find out more on the government website (Gov.uk, no date d).

Childcare Grant

Full-time students eligible for student finance may be entitled to help with childcare costs (Gov.uk, no date e).

The Childcare Grant is paid on top of other student finance and doesn’t need to be paid back. However, if there is a change in circumstances or course, some money may need to be repaid (Gov.uk, no date e).

Child maintenance service

When one parent does not live with the child, then a financial arrangement to support the child must be in place. This can be made privately between the parents, or through the child maintenance service (Gov.uk, no date f). Find out more on the government website.

Child with a disability

The local council may provide support for parents of a baby or child with a disability. This may be financial help, short breaks, or care at home. Contact the social services team at your local council to request a needs assessment (Gov.uk, no date g).

Healthy Start

Pregnant women and birthing people who are more than 10 weeks pregnant, or parents with a child or children under the age of four, may be able to access funding for healthy food, milk, and free vitamins (Gov.uk, no date h). The funding is for each child, so parents with twins and multiples are entitled to more funding.

Anyone pregnant and under the age of 18, or claiming certain benefits, is entitled to the Healthy Start scheme. In Scotland, apply to the Best Start Foods scheme (Gov.uk, no date h).

Read more about a healthy diet in pregnancy and after birth in our article.

Maternity exemption certificate

If a woman or birthing person is pregnant or has given birth in the last 12 months and has a valid maternity exemption certificate, they are entitled to (NHSBSA, no date):

Free NHS prescriptions
Free NHS dental treatment

A midwife, doctor or health visitor completes the application form for the mother or birthing person when the pregnancy is confirmed. The certificate may be sent immediately by email, or a paper copy will arrive in the post within 10 days (NHSBSA, no date).

Migrant entitlements

Migrants are entitled to maternity care, no matter what their immigration status or their ability to pay. This covers care in pregnancy, labour, and after the birth. They can register for GP services, and apply for the Healthy Start scheme (Gov.uk, 2021).

With a maternity exemption certificate, migrants are entitled to free NHS prescriptions and NHS dental treatment (Gov.uk, 2021).

Charges for maternity care may apply for some migrants. If unable to pay, repayment plans can be discussed with the NHS Trust (Gov.uk, 2021).

Maternity Action has information on (Maternity Action, no date):

Financial support
Housing options
Maternity rights
NHS maternity care

The information about maternity pay and benefits is also available in other languages (Maternity Action, no date).

Sure Start Maternity Grant

Those receiving certain benefits may be entitled to a Sure Start Maternity Grant. This is a one-off payment of £500 to help with the costs of having a child. It doesn’t need to be paid back (Gov.uk, no date i).

The Sure Start Maternity Grant can be claimed for a first baby, or a multiple birth where there are older children (Gov.uk, no date i).

In Scotland, the Pregnancy and Baby Payment replaces the Sure Start Grant (Gov.uk, no date i).

Universal Credit

Universal Credit is a payment to help with living costs. There is a different application process in Northern Ireland. It might be available to people (Gov.uk, no date j):