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Hi All
Joined today as really not sure what avenue to take or advice to seek!
I will soon be splitting from my partner (not married) to become a single working Mum. My daughter is 3yrs old. I work 22.5 hours a week. Myself and my soon to be ex have a very friendly/amicable relationship and know he will happily support his Daughter but not sure how much he needs to provide?! He is in full time employment.
I will be looking to rent a property privately.
Not sure who i need to contact to seek advice on what government help i will be entitled too, if any!? I am on a relatively low wage of around £700pcm.
Can anyone please advice on who i should call, what websites to visit etc.
I live in Birmingham.
Thanks in advance :-/
Hi Evel
I have recently found myself in a very similar situation to you, I work 28 hrs and have two children under 5.
I found the tax credit people to be very helpful and I was surprised as to how quick everything was sorted out. I completed the application form over the phone - and was also pleasantly surprised as to how much I was entitled to.
My local council also has funding available to help single parents. After getting in touch with them, I have also found out I am entitled to 3 months free childcare! So it might also be worth contacting them to find out what kind of funding they have available (if any).
Good luck with it all - I know its not easy
Hi Flutterby, many thanks for taking the time to reply to my message....much appreciated.
I will contact working tax credits and take it from there. It's a very daunting prospect going it alone. Hate the thought of being another statistic, esp when haven't had help from the government before, always worked but i really don't think i can manage without some help!
Hope you're managing to survive. Good luck also :-)
Yes do phone the Tax Credit people (0845 300 3900), if you have problems getting through my top tip is to try when they open on a Sunday at 8am... and also apply for Housing Benefit through your local Job Centre Plus if you are in rented accommodation. The Tax Credits should incude some childcare help. As for your former partner, the CSA would say that he should pay 15% of his gross wage if he has no other children to support, so perhaps you could use this as a guideline. You are encouraged these days to draw up an amicable private agreement, have a look here for guidance on this.
If you have queries about money matters, we have a specialist from Citizen's Advice on board, click here to contact them.
Hi Evel. Welcome along to One Space. Take a look here Hopefully this section can give you some of your answers. Others will be along at some point today, so do keep posting.