watervole: (Fontmell Down)
Judith Proctor ([personal profile] watervole) wrote2005-06-20 08:23 pm
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End of an era

I got my very last child benefit payment this month. Henry's 18 on 7 July. A very easy birthday to remember as he was born 7/7/87.

That's £17 a week from my budget. Ouch.

We expect to keep on supporting him while he's at university. He'll take out a student loan of course, but we hope we'll be solvent enough to pay off most of it for him.

If anyone wants cheap web space, on-line credit card systems, really complicated telecomms stuff (analysis-type stuff), etc., now would be a jolly good time to fund Henry's degree by giving Richard extra work.
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[identity profile] reapermum.livejournal.com 2005-06-20 09:19 pm (UTC)(link)
How come your child benefit stops now? My youngest was 18 in April and I had the letter from the Child Benefit Office dated 23 May telling me it stops after the first week in September. I thought that was a standard date, tied to the new school year they won't be starting.
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[identity profile] watervole.livejournal.com 2005-06-20 09:49 pm (UTC)(link)
To be honest, the letter is ambiguous. It could mean it's stopping now, or it could be stopping in September. I assumed now as it's so close to his birthday, but I can see the loigic in September for children born at other times of the year. I shan't complain if I have a few more months to go!

[identity profile] vicarage.livejournal.com 2005-06-20 10:28 pm (UTC)(link)
Don't schoolkids get large payments now to keep them at school. Almost as much as I got for being umemployed having paid loads of stamp... Mutter, mutter
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[identity profile] watervole.livejournal.com 2005-06-20 10:32 pm (UTC)(link)
Mine certainly didn't get any handouts for being at school or college.

[identity profile] ia-robertson.livejournal.com 2005-06-21 05:38 am (UTC)(link)
Some do - it's called EMA. However it is means tested - so if the household income is more than about 35k the young person gets nothing.

Alastair

[identity profile] reapermum.livejournal.com 2005-06-21 01:54 pm (UTC)(link)
During the transition it's been more complicated than that. I work in a school whose catchment area straddles a county boundary. One county trialed the EMA, the other didn't, so half of year 12 was eligible to apply, the other half couldn't. Now it's been rolled out for the whole country, but those who were not permitted to apply because of their address now can't apply on age grounds. There is a certain amount of bad feeling between the two groups. And then there's the complaints from parents when the school refuses to sign the forms certifying school attendance because they've been bunking off.
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