Get help with costs if you have a child or you’re pregnant
This advice applies to Scotland. See advice for See advice for England, See advice for Northern Ireland, See advice for Wales
You might be able to get extra money to help pay for essential costs like food, childcare and school costs.
Check if you can get child maintenance payments
If you’re separated from your child’s other parent, they might have to pay you child maintenance - this is sometimes called ‘child support’.
If you get benefits, you can still get child maintenance - your benefits won’t be affected.
Check what child maintenance arrangement is right for you.
Check what benefits you can get
You might be able to claim extra benefits if you have a child - for example:
Child Benefit
Universal Credit
Guardian’s Allowance - if you’re responsible for a child whose parents have died
Child Disability Payment - if your child is under 16 years old and is ill, is disabled or has a mental health condition
Adult Disability Payment - if your child is aged 16 or over and is ill, is disabled or has a mental health condition
Carer Support Payment or Carer’s Allowance - if your child gets Child Disability Payment, Disability Living Allowance (DLA), Adult Disability Payment or Personal Independence Payment (PIP)
You can use the Turn2us benefits calculator for a quick idea of what benefits and other financial help you might be able to get.
Use the Turn2us benefits calculator.
If you’re on maternity leave
If you can’t get maternity pay, you might be able to claim Maternity Allowance.
Check if you can get maternity pay or Maternity Allowance.
If you already get benefits
You might be able to get extra money or help because you have a child.
If you get Universal Credit
You should get the child element of Universal Credit if you're responsible for a child under 16 who normally lives with you. You'll get an extra amount for a second child.
You can also get this until 31 August following your child’s 19th birthday if they're in full-time non-advanced education - for example, at school or college.
You’ll usually only get extra money for a third child if they were born before 6th April 2017.
Check how much Universal Credit you can get.
You can tell the DWP about your child by reporting a change of circumstances.
If you get Working Tax Credit or Child Tax Credit
Child Tax Credit gives you access to other help - like free school meals. If you only get Working Tax Credit, you can add Child Tax Credit to your claim.
If you already get Child Tax Credit, you might be able to add another child onto the existing claim.
If you get Pension Credit
If you’re responsible for a child you can get an extra amount added to your Pension Credit, as long as you’re not already getting child tax credits.
If you get Personal Independence Payment
If you or your child already get PIP, you might be able to get extra money and help.
If you get Child Disability Payment
If you already get Child Disability Payment for your child, you might be able to get extra money and help.
Check what extra help you can get on Child Disability Payment.
If you get Adult Disability Payment
If you or your child already get Adult Disability Payment, you might be able to get extra money and help.
Check what extra help you can get on Adult Disability Payment.
Check if you can get a grant
You could get a one-off payment to help with the costs of having a baby or young child. You usually qualify if you get certain benefits.
Find out more about the Best Start Grant.
There might be other grants available in your area. Check if you can get any other grants on the Turn2us website.
Get help with childcare costs
There are different schemes to help you pay for childcare. These will only pay for ‘approved childcare’ - check what childcare is approved on GOV.UK.
You might be able to get more help, depending on:
if you get any benefits
the age of your child
your income
if your child is disabled
You might be able to use more than one scheme depending on your circumstances.
Check what help you can get with childcare costs.
If you work and claim Universal Credit
If you work and claim Universal Credit, you might be able to claim back up to 85% of your childcare costs. You can get up to £1,014.63 a month for 1 child or £1,739.37 for 2 or more children.
You can claim back childcare costs until the next 1 September after your child turns 16 years old.
Check if you can claim back childcare costs through Universal Credit on GOV.UK.
If you earn at least £183 a week
You might be able to apply to the Tax-Free Childcare scheme. This can help you with childcare costs, for example childminders, nurseries and holiday clubs. You can get up to:
£2,000 a year for each child until the next 1 September after they turn 11 years old
£4,000 a year for each disabled child until the next 1 September after they turn 16 years old
You can’t get Tax-Free Childcare if you get Universal Credit, childcare vouchers or Child or Working Tax Credit.
Check if you can get Tax-Free Childcare on GOV.UK.
If your child is 3 or 4 years old
If you have a 3- or 4-year-old, you can get up to 1,140 hours of funded early learning or childcare a year - around 30 hours a week in term time. Find out more about early learning and childcare.
Get help paying for food
If you’re struggling to pay for food, find out how to get help from a food bank and other crisis help.
If you or your partner are pregnant or have a child under 3, you might be able to get free vitamins and a Best Start Foods prepaid card to spend on:
milk
vegetables
eggs
pulses - like beans and lentils
Check how to get free vitamins and a Best Start Foods prepaid card.
Get help with school costs
If you’re on a low income or claim certain benefits, you might be able to get help with the costs of sending your children to school.
For example, you could get:
free school meals
free transport to school
a grant to help buy school clothes or uniforms
help with school trips
Find out more about getting help with school costs.
Get more help with the cost of living
You can also get help that doesn’t depend on you having children. Check what other help you can get with the cost of living.