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Lost in benefit labyrinth
• I AM a woman with two girls aged seven and 12 and due to illness I am on Income Support.
Since January 4 2007 the government has not been paying for my children as Income Support have now relinquished the financial burden for children to the Inland Revenue, under the title ‘child tax credits’. Income Support did not inform me of this change, nor did The Inland Revenue. It was two weeks before I discovered why I was not being paid.
I was sent an application form to fill out – this took 17 days to reach me.
I applied straight away but up until now I have still not been paid. In fact they say they have not got the application on their computer.
My children have now been without any payment for seven weeks – my payment, which is £40 per week – barely covers utilities and a bus pass to take my youngest to school.
My oldest daughter now has only one pair of jeans and one pair of trainers, which obviously get wet in the rain, keeping her in until they are dry.
I have had to go restaurants to ask them if they have any food they are throwing away – some have treated me extremely well, other with absolute contempt.
It is humiliating enough asking, without being treated as though I am just after a free meal. How can we treat our children in this way in this country in the year 2007? I have even thought of begging but I don’t think I would be able to and it is after all, illegal.
I have been told that I will not be paid for at least another three weeks. Do they expect my children and I to starve or for me to turn to crime to feed them?
Name and address supplied
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