Social Fund Sure Start Maternity Grant

Eligibility

To qualify for a Sure Start Maternity Grant, usually you must have no other children in your family and you must get one of the following benefits:

• Income Support
• Income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance
• Income-related Employment and Support Allowance
• Pension Credit
• Child Tax Credit
• Working Tax Credit that includes a disability or severe disability element
• Universal Credit

You may also be eligible if you get Support for Mortgage Interest loan payments.

You have or care for at least one child under 16

You may still be able to get a grant if:

• you are expecting more than one baby (such as twins or triplets)
• the child (or children) you are caring for is not your own nor your partner’s and was over 12 months old when the arrangement started
• you have been granted refugee status, humanitarian protection or you have come to the UK from Afghanistan or Ukraine
• you have a child or children from before you arrived in the UK

You have refugee or humanitarian protection or left Ukraine or Afghanistan

You may be able to get a grant if you have a child or children from before you arrived in the UK and one of the following is true:

• you have refugee status or humanitarian protection
• you left Afghanistan because of the collapse of the Afghan government which happened on 15 August 2021
• you were resident in Ukraine immediately before 1 January 2022 and you left because of the Russian invasion which happened on 24 February 2022

If this applies to you, complete page 7 of the claim form SF100 (Sure Start).

You are not the one pregnant or have given birth

You may be able to get a grant if a dependant of yours who is under 20, and who you receive benefit for, is:

• expecting their first child 
• expecting more than one baby (such as twins or triplets) and have children already

You are adopting a child or becoming a surrogate parent

If you are adopting a child or becoming a surrogate parent (a person who takes care of a child when the parents are unavailable) such as a foster parent, you may be able to get a grant.

The baby must be younger than one on the date you claim.  You must get one of the benefits above and any one of the following must apply:

• You have become responsible for the baby and you are not the mother
• The baby has been placed with you for adoption
• You have got permission to adopt a baby from abroad
• You have got a parental order for a surrogate birth
• You have been appointed as guardian
• You have an adoption or a residence order

Help and advice

You can get more information about Sure Start Maternity Grants by phoning 0800 022 4250.

How to claim

To apply fill in claim form SF100 (Sure Start)  which you can ask for either online or by phoning 0800 0224 250.  Send your filled in form to:

Sure Start Maternity Grants
Mail Opening Unit
PO Box 42
Limavady
BT49 4AN

You can also request a form by post.

There is a different form and postal address if you live in England or Wales.

If you live in Scotland, you need to apply for Pregnancy and Baby Payment.

If you are expecting a baby or have recently had a baby, you need to send proof of the expected date of confinement or the date of birth. This could be:

• a MATB1 signed by a health professional
• another statement signed by a health professional
• if the baby was stillborn, their birth certificate or other notification

See pages 3 and 4 of the claim form for more information about the evidence needed about your baby.

If you are claiming because you have become responsible for a child under 12 months old, you need to send the adoption order, residence order, parental order, or similar document. See pages 5 and 6 of the claim form for more information about the evidence needed about the child.

You will get a letter telling you if your claim was successful. If you get Universal Credit, you will not get a decision on your claim until after your next payment.

When to claim

A filled-in form must be sent within six months of:

• the baby being born
• the date of the adoption, residence or parental order, or guardianship appointment
• the date you took responsibility for the baby

If you are pregnant, you can claim from 11 weeks before the baby is due.

If you are waiting for a decision on a qualifying benefit or entitlement, or have asked for your Child Tax Credit award to be reviewed, you must still claim within these time limits.

Important: The date the claim form is received in a Department for Communities office is the date it can consider payment from, not the date you download the claim form.

How much you'll get

If you do not already have children a Sure Start Maternity Grant is £500.

How benefits and pensions are paid

If you already have or care for a child under 16, you can only get a grant if you are expecting a multiple birth (for example twins or triplets). The amount you would get is shown in the table below.

If you are unhappy with a decision

If you think a decision is wrong, you should get in touch within one month of the date of the letter telling you the decision.

You, or someone who has the authority to act for you, can:

• ask for an explanation of the decision
• ask for a written statement of reasons for the decision (if you have not already been sent one)
• ask to look at the decision again to see if it can be changed.  There may be some facts you think may have been overlooked, or you may have further information that affects the decision

When your request has been received the decision will be looked at again (carry out a ‘Mandatory Reconsideration’) and you will be sent a letter explaining if a change the original decision has been made or not.  This letter will also explain the next stage of the appeal process.

• How to appeal against a benefits decision