Maternity Action are currently gathering experiences of getting the extra Home Office pregnancy payment of £3.00 which pregnant women in receipt of Home Office support (Section 95 and Section 4) are entitled to claim. Home Office policy states that “pregnant women who are supported – should make an application for additional payment in writing, signed by the applicant and include original, credible written confirmation of pregnancy such as form MAT B1, a letter from a Community Midwife or a letter from a GP”.
However, it seems that many of those applying will normally be expected to provide MAT B1 before payments are issued – which cannot normally be provided until the woman is around 20 weeks pregnant and, despite Home Office policy, other forms of pregnancy confirmation are not being accepted. As a result, many women on Home Office support and not getting this vital extra support earlier in their pregnancy.
Maternity Action would like to raise this issue with the Home Office and are keen to hear your experiences of applying for the extra payment in pregnancy and whether you have managed to get payments earlier by providing other forms of confirmation. Please get in touch with Gerry Hickey at gerryhickey@maternityaction