Does anyone know about...

[charlie]

the £120 "veg aid" vouchers that expectant mothers are supposed to receive?
A friend of mine mentioned it, but didn't know the details.
Is there such a thing, is it available to all, or just the people who are claiming benefits?

[Russian Doll]

its just for families on income support or child tax credit only

[citizentwiglet]

If you claim CTC, you have to be below a certain earning thresh-hold too; can't quite remember what it was but I think that when it was introduced we just missed out on it by a couple of quid.

Hope it's OK to post the link - they have a 'Do You Qualify?' form that you can fill in, it doesn't take long.


http://www.healthystart.nhs.uk/

[Shirley]

That's a good idea - I'd never heard of it before. Thanks for posting the link Twigs. I hope that it will be of benefit to people that may qualify. It's not just for expectant mums but people with children under 4 (you have be claiming certain benefits as indicated above, and in more detail on the website link provided by CT)

[mrsflibble]

I'm not eligible; but i think it's a great idea.

[charlie]

Thanks for those replies, and the link.
Unfortunately i don't qualify either
I had heard that it was for everyone who was 7 months pregnant +. Obviously that was wrong.
Never mind, back down to the allotment to start planting more veggies!!!

[MrsD'ville mkII]

I was very excited about this too when I first heard about it, but we don't qualify either, being so fabulously wealthy'n'all.

On a related subject, does anyone know about the money that nice Mr Brown puts in an envelope for us when the baby's born? DD missed out on that by just a couple of months (if anyone had said I'd've kept my legs crossed that wee bit longer) so I don't know anything about it.

[Annpan]

same idea Mrs D'ville - you only qualify if you claim IS or CTC, within a certain band.



Am I really the only one who believes that when we work hard to put food on the table and only have the children whom we know we can provide for we are penalised. - of course we can all have misfortune and for some reason not be able to provide for our children, and this is where the state should step in to assist, but encouraging people to have kids because you are better off not earning a wage but having several kids and all the benefits that you can ecru. [/rant]

[Masco&Bongo]

Am I really the only one who believes that when we work hard to put food on the table and only have the children whom we know we can provide for we are penalised. - of course we can all have misfortune and for some reason not be able to provide for our children, and this is where the state should step in to assist, but encouraging people to have kids because you are better off not earning a wage but having several kids and all the benefits that you can ecru. [/rant]

Slightly off topic, but Annpan's post made me think of it...

My sister employs a lady for 8hrs a week in her shop. She is a single mum. She has recently been advised by the benefits office to give up her job and stay at home; as she would get more money from being on benefits alone than if she worked 8 hours a week and was on benefits.

I was gobsmacked that she was being advised to actuall stop working in order to be on benefits! No wonder my SIL or BIL have made no effort to go and get jobs, they're obviously not getting any encouragement to go out and do it!

[mrsflibble]

I got a child trust fund voucher for £250 when soph was born, it's NOT means tested. nor is child benefit. tax credits are. maternity benefits can be. maternity grants are. for soph I get £70 ish p/w child benefit, and I get £10 ish p/w tax credit.
I stuck her trust fund voucher in a standard savings account; when I had her there were only two banks offering that service; the stakeholder options are ALL stock market linked in one way or another and your returns are NOT guaranteed. I didn't feel it was right to let the government gamble on the stock market with money that belongs to my daughter. We have a standing order into her account. it's not a lot but over time it will give her a nice lump sum.

[Annpan]

I got a child trust fund voucher for £250 when soph was born, it's NOT means tested. nor is child benefit. tax credits are. maternity benefits can be. maternity grants are. for soph I get £70 ish p/w child benefit, and I get £10 ish p/w tax credit.
I stuck her trust fund voucher in a standard savings account; when I had her there were only two banks offering that service; the stakeholder options are ALL stock market linked in one way or another and your returns are NOT guaranteed. I didn't feel it was right to let the government gamble on the stock market with money that belongs to my daughter. We have a standing order into her account. it's not a lot but over time it will give her a nice lump sum.

Yes MrsF, I got the CTF voucher too. which must be invested in a special account and that the child will have access when they are 18.

I thought that Mrs D'ville was talking about the surestart grant, which is £500 cash on the birth of your baby. Those eligible for that cash also get an extra £250 voucher to invest in the CTF (This is certainly what is available in Scotland, I might be wrong in thinking it is nationwide)

[Rosebay]

Hi Newbie here!

We did qualify for the vouchers for a brief period when my son was very small BUT- get this- you could only use them in certain places with stickers up, so for me this was Asda and Sainsburys. Now we have an allotment which we do pretty well out of for most of the year but the rest of the time I wouldn't dream of buying veggie from a supermarket as we have two great vegetable shops within 10 mins walk (we live in the middle of Bristol but are so lucky with good local shops). They have local vegetables in season etc etc so I didn't apply for the vouchers as it would have taken me into the lair of the supermarket anyway (I never escape those places without buying more than I need so it's best to avoid them as much as I can) and besides we don't have a car and they were further away from me than the local vegetable shops. Nice idea I guess but shame it's a tie-in with supermarkets again....

Nice to meet you all
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