Emergency Financial Support for Parents Facing Hardship in the UK

The soaring cost of living is difficult to tackle for many Brits. Parents especially face difficulties keeping their bodies and souls together. They are responsible not only for their expenses but they are also accountable for provisioning their children. It is a nightmare for those who are single parents. Many single mothers struggle to manage their household expenses, and one of the reasons for this is the gender pay gap.

Thankfully, there is financial support for single mothers. In addition, financial assistance from direct lenders is available. For instance, if you lose your job, you could rely on unemployed loans to meet your emergency expenses. Well, there are several kinds of benefits that you may apply for if you are struggling to manage your finances.

·        Child benefits

Child benefits are entitled to parents responsible for a child under 16. Your child must be living with you. However, you do not have to be the parent of the child you are responsible for. These benefits are also available for children above 16 but under 20 as long as they are pursuing full-time, non-advanced education.

Child benefits vary by the age of the child. Elderly children will receive the benefit at a higher rate, while younger children will receive it at a lower rate. In the case of twins, the first twin will be considered an elder child. The higher rate is not more than £26 per week, and the lower rate is up to £17.25 per week. In order to claim child benefits, you can either make a claim online or call the child benefit office.

·        Universal credit

Universal credit is aimed at helping people who have low wages and incomes. It is a single monthly payment that enables you to meet your living costs properly. You will be entitled to universal credit even if you try to claim income support, income-related employment and support allowance, income-based jobseeker’s allowance, working tax credit, and child tax credit. This is because universal credit has replaced all of these benefits.

You will have to meet the following conditions to qualify for universal credit:

·        You must have come of age.

·        You must be under state pension of age.

·        You should be a resident of the UK.

·        You should not be pursuing any education; however, there are certain exceptions.

·        Your savings must be less than £16,000, including the value of other assets.

If you are married or live with a partner, you can consider applying for a joint claim. However, the income of you will be assessed. A joint claim could be applied even if one of you does not meet the aforementioned condition. The standard allowance rates are:

·        £316.98 per month for a single applicant aged under 25 and £400 for those above 25.

·        £497.5 per month for joint applicants under the age of 25 and £628 for those above 25.

You can fill out the application form online for universal credit. You will have four weeks to complete the application once you create an account. Universal credit will be due from the date you finish the application.

·        Carer’s allowance

Carer’s allowance is aimed at those parents who are responsible for taking care of a disabled child. You will be entitled to receive £83 per week. However, it is worth noting that you are not permitted to claim these allowances if you earn more than the maximum limit. Even if you have been receiving other benefits, you will likely be precluded from getting carer’s allowances. To be eligible for carer’s allowances, you must meet the following eligibility criteria:

·        Your age should be at least 16.

·        You provide at least 35 hours a week of care to the disabled child.

·        You are not working, or if so, your wages are not more than the earning limit set for the carer’s allowances.

·        You must not have been pursuing a full-time course.

You can contact the carer’s allowance unit to claim these allowances or simply file an application online. Carer allowances are deposited directly into your bank account. They will either be paid weekly, either in advance or in arrears.

·        Discretionary housing payment

Discretionary housing payments are available to those who are struggling to meet housing costs. It is likely that you struggle to pay your rent or related expenses because of being on low wages or taking care of your children.

You can contact your local council, which will assess your overall financial condition to decide whether you meet the approval criteria or not. You are entitled to receive discretionary housing payments to cover household expenses such as rent. Check with your local council about how to apply for these payments.

·        Childcare support

You might feel inclined to increase your working hours in order to cope with the rising cost of living or when the dependence on your child is causing your budget to fall apart. In such circumstances, you might be entitled to receive childcare support.

What if you still need money to meet emergency expenses?

While there are several benefits you can apply for to offset the impact of the rising cost of living, it is still possible that your budget does not have wiggle room to meet unexpected expenses. For instance, if you lose your job, you would have to rely only on benefits to cover your costs, but they cannot be enough. In such circumstances, you might need an emergency loan with bad credit in the UK from a direct lender.

These loans could help come in handy to bridge the gap. However, bear in mind that they are to be discharged in fell one swoop on the due date. The repayment period does not last more than a month. Even though you have not got any job, you are entitled to pay them off. Make sure you will not struggle to pay them off.

The final word

There are benefits, and financial aid is available for parents struggling financially. In addition, loans could also come in handy in case of small emergency expenses. Research and choose which one suits your needs.