Care and support

Adoption and benefits

Statutory Adoption Pay (SAP) and Statutory Paternity Pay (SPP)

Since 6th April 2003 there has been a right to 26 weeks paid adoption leave, with a further 26 weeks unpaid adoption leave. Adoption leave is available to parents adopting a child aged under 18 years when the child is placed for adoption. To qualify, you must have worked for your employer continuously for 26 weeks.

SAP is paid at a flat rate of £117.18 per week (or 90% of average weekly earnings if this is less) for 26 weeks. When a couple adopts, they can choose who takes adoption leave and who takes paternity leave. You must notify your employer of the date you plan to start your leave when matched with a child.

Statutory Paternity Pay (SPP) is also paid at a flat rate of £117.18 per week (or 90% of average weekly earnings if this is less) for two weeks. Paternity leave can be taken at anytime from the date of birth up to eight weeks after.

To qualify for SPP, your partner will need to have worked for his or her employer continuously for 26 weeks by the 15th week before the baby is due and earn more than £90 per week on average. He or she must also give his or her employer notice of the day he or she wants the paternity leave to start in the 15th week before the week the baby is due.

Working tax credit and child tax credit

See above section in ‘fostering’ for a basic description of tax credits, which is a system of means-tested support for families with or without children, whether the parent(s) are working or not.

As a person adopting a child you will be entitled to support from the day you take up caring for the child, unless you are getting a fostering allowance from the local authority. Once the child is adopted however, any adoption allowance is ignored as income.

Working tax credit does not extend as far up the income scale as CTC does, but it does contain help with certain types of child-care costs if parents are working.

You may claim working tax credit and child tax credit by contacting HMRC by telephone, or on-line at www.hmrc.gov.uk/taxcredits, or in person. Their helpline number is 0845 300 3900 for further details.

Tax credits are usually based on your income in the previous tax year. When you adopt, your current income may drop, so you should ask HMRC to either adjust your existing award or base a new award on your current year income.

Child benefit

Child benefit can usually be paid to prospective adopters from the Monday following the date the child is placed with you, but not if you are getting a fostering allowance. Child benefit is a tax-free payment to you as the person with whom the child lives.

It is paid at the weekly rate of £18.80 for the first child in a family and £12.55 for subsequent children while the child is a dependant (i.e. up to 16 years of age, or up to 20th birthday if in full-time non-advanced education or training).

You can claim on a CH2 form available from your nearest tax or jobcentre plus office or the HMRC website (www.hmrc.gov.uk) You will be asked to send the Adoption Certificate with the form but if you do not have this do not delay. Send it later and explain this on the form or on an accompanying letter.

Applications can be made to the Child Benefit Office (Washington), Newcastle upon Tyne, NE88 1BR 0845 302 1444 or on-line at www.hmrc.gov.uk

Disability Living Allowance (DLA)

See above section in ‘fostering’ for a basic description of DLA.

If you adopt a child with disabilities, you should consider claiming DLA. You can get an application form by telephoning 0800 882200 and asking for a DLA Claim form for a person under 16 years of age.

If DLA is already in payment, it is important you contact the Disability Contact and Processing Unit to ensure they know the child is living with you, their address is:

Government Buildings
Warbreck House
Warbreck Hill
Blackpool FY2 0YJ

The benefit is usually paid to an adult with whom the child lives if he or she is under 16 years of age, so the DCPU will need to know that you wish to act as the child’s appointee.

The county council’s money advice unit, contacted via your social worker, can provide you with further information and advice on this benefit and other benefits for children with a disability.

The payment of DLA is:

• tax free
• not means-tested
• not dependent on national insurance contributions.
• paid on top of any social security benefits, tax credits or other income you may have and indeed can increase the amounts of some means-tested benefits such as CTC, housing benefit and council tax benefit.

There are other advantages to claiming DLA. For example if the higher rate of the mobility component is paid, you could be exempt from vehicle excise duty. If the middle or higher rate of the care component is paid, you may be entitled to claim carer’s allowance.

Carer’s allowance

If your child has disabilities and receives the middle or higher rate of the care component of disability living allowance, you or someone else may be able to claim carer’s allowance. It is payable to anyone who cares for them for 35 hours a week, is not a full-time student, and earns under £95.00 net a week. Any adoption allowance you get does not count as earnings.

An application for carer’s allowance can be made on a form available from your nearest jobcentre plus office or www.dwp.gov.uk/carersallowance. The carers allowance unit is based at Palatine House, Lancaster Road, Preston, Lancashire, FY2 0YE. (01253 856123)

Income support, jobseeker’s allowance and pension credit

Income support and income-based jobseeker’s allowance are, for new claimants, ‘adult-only’ benefits, with support for children being paid as CTC. Until at least 2009 however your benefit will, if you claimed before April 2004, include:

• a family premium – because you have children
• a dependent allowance – for each child in your family

If you have a child with disability you may also get:

• a disabled child premium
• a carer’s premium – if your or your partner claim carer’s allowance for looking after your son or daughter
• an enhanced disability premium – if your child gets the higher rate of the care component of disability living allowance.

In 2009 (or later) all of the above except the carer’s premium will be phased out and existing claimants of IS/JSA will switch to child tax credit (see above).

Pension credit for people aged 60 contains no elements for children. People aged 60 or over with children should be claiming child tax credit (and working tax credit if still employed).

If you claim income support, JSA, tax credits or pension credit, and have had a child placed with you after April 2003, you should notify the tax credit office straight away to inform them that your family has changed and you are responsible for another child. You should then receive CTC.

It will usually be necessary to show you have the child living with you and you are responsible for him or her before CTC is paid. You should therefore claim child benefit also (see above).

Any adoption allowance that you get won’t affect tax credits. It will not effect income support/JSA either if those benefits don’t include elements for children. However, if your income support still includes an amount for children, your adoption allowance counts as income up to the level of that support. The rest is ignored.

If you are getting income support, income-based JSA, or pension credit (guarantee or savings credit) you may also be able to access the social fund from jobcentre plus which can offer loans and grants for one-off items that you might need for your adopted child.

Housing and council tax benefit

You may be due help with rent and council tax once you have adopted a child, especially if your income has reduced as well. This help is means-tested and part of the adoption allowance will count as income (up to the level of the child’s allowance within housing and council tax benefit). Apply to your district or borough council.

There are also ‘discretionary housing payments’ that can be paid by the council if you are only getting partial help with your rent or council tax. These could be paid if you have exceptional extra out-goings because of the adopted child for example.

Maternity grant

You may be able to get a sure start maternity payment of £500 if you have adopted a child under the age of 1.

You or your partner must get either income support, income-based jobseeker’s allowance, pension credit, working tax credit (which includes a disability or severe disability element) or child tax credit (at a rate greater than the family element) on the day that you claim the sure start maternity payment .

You must claim a sure start maternity payment within 3 months of the adoption order being made. You should claim on form SF100 from your local social security or jobcentre plus Office.

Health benefits

Whatever your income, you can get free prescriptions, NHS dental treatment and optical care for any child under 16 (or under 20 if still in non-advanced education).

You also get this help if you are getting income support, the guarantee credit part of pension credit, income-based JSA, or you are on a low income. You will also get full help with these if you receive one of the following:

• working tax credit and child tax credit, or
• working tax credit with a disability addition, or
• child tax credit (but are not eligible for working tax credit) and have an annual gross income of less than £15,050 per year

Under the Healthy Start scheme, children under 5 in low income families can receive fixed value vouchers that can be exchanged for milk, infant formula, fruit and vegetables. The families have to be receiving income support, income-based jobseeker's allowance or child tax credit with an annual family income of £15, 575 or less. Details from 0845 607 6823