My partner works about 60 hours a week for £25000 a year. We have a 2 year old and I am three months pregnant.
Our income for the previous year was low due to my partner having an accident and being off work for a while, so we qualified for both child and working tax credits and are getting about £70 a week at the moment. However in April we will no longer qualify as our joint income was exactly £26000 for this tax year, so we will lose it all. We're only breaking even at the moment so we are very worried.
For a few reasons, rather than seek employment, I have registered for self employment and am trying to set up my own business. I have the skills and the equipment to do what I want but I am struggling for the time to do it. My son has given up napping and barely sleeps at night and I am his sole carer for most of the time. As my partner is hardly here and I have no significant chance of help from family or friends I have been looking into childcare for my him. In April, it seems, I would get no help towards the cost of childcare at all. I got my hopes up when I read that some 2 year olds will get nursery funding, but I understand this only if your income is £16,000 or lower - but surely you would be entitled to tax credits anyway and therefore help with childcare anyway then? Or am I missing something?
Obviously I am hoping to earn enough through my business to be able to pay for childcare but I need time to build it up, and I feel it is a bit of a catch-22. I am desperate to get started as I only have six months before the baby is born, but I just don't know what to do. It's something I feel will benefit the whole family both short and long term, and I'm sure the government would rather I was trying to work than not - so why is it so difficult?!
The only thing I can think of is some kind of start up grant which I could use for childcare while I get established. Is there such a thing and where would I start looking?
Our income for the previous year was low due to my partner having an accident and being off work for a while, so we qualified for both child and working tax credits and are getting about £70 a week at the moment. However in April we will no longer qualify as our joint income was exactly £26000 for this tax year, so we will lose it all. We're only breaking even at the moment so we are very worried.
For a few reasons, rather than seek employment, I have registered for self employment and am trying to set up my own business. I have the skills and the equipment to do what I want but I am struggling for the time to do it. My son has given up napping and barely sleeps at night and I am his sole carer for most of the time. As my partner is hardly here and I have no significant chance of help from family or friends I have been looking into childcare for my him. In April, it seems, I would get no help towards the cost of childcare at all. I got my hopes up when I read that some 2 year olds will get nursery funding, but I understand this only if your income is £16,000 or lower - but surely you would be entitled to tax credits anyway and therefore help with childcare anyway then? Or am I missing something?
Obviously I am hoping to earn enough through my business to be able to pay for childcare but I need time to build it up, and I feel it is a bit of a catch-22. I am desperate to get started as I only have six months before the baby is born, but I just don't know what to do. It's something I feel will benefit the whole family both short and long term, and I'm sure the government would rather I was trying to work than not - so why is it so difficult?!
The only thing I can think of is some kind of start up grant which I could use for childcare while I get established. Is there such a thing and where would I start looking?