The Social Fund Maternity and Funeral Expenses (General) Regulations 2005

Entitlement where another member of the claimant’s family is under the age of 16

[F1 5A.— (1) In this regulation—

(a) “C” means the child or still-born child in respect of whom a Sure Start Maternity Grant is claimed; and

(b) “existing member of the family” has the meaning given in paragraph (2) or, as the case may be, (3).

(2) Where a parent of C (“P”) is under the age of 20 and a member of the claimant’s family, “existing member of the family” means any member of the claimant’s family who is also a child of P, apart from C or any other child born as a result of the same pregnancy as C.

(3) In any other case, “existing member of the family” means any member of the claimant’s family apart from—

(a) C;

(b) any other child born as a result of the same pregnancy as C;

(c) any child whose parent is under the age of 20 and a member of the claimant’s family[F2 ;

(d) any child—

(i) who was not, at the time of the child’s birth, a child of the claimant (or, where the claimant has a partner at the date of claim, the claimant’s partner); and

(ii) whose age, at the time that the claimant (or, where the claimant has a partner at the date of claim, the claimant’s partner) first became responsible for that child, exceeded 12 months.]

(4) Subject to the following provisions of this regulation, a Sure Start Maternity Grant shall not be awarded if, at the date of claim, any existing member of the family is under the age of 16.

(5) Where C is one of two or more children—

(a) born or still-born as a result of the same pregnancy, or

(b) (if the claim is made before the confinement in a case where regulation 5(3)(a) applies) who are expected to be born as a result of the same pregnancy,

(c) the number of Sure Start Maternity Grants to be awarded is to be determined in accordance with paragraphs (6) and (7).

(6) Where at the date of claim no existing member of the family is under the age of 16 a Sure Start Maternity Grant is to be awarded in respect of each of the children mentioned in paragraph (5).

(7) Where at the date of claim any existing member of the family is under the age of 16 then—

(a) where each of those existing members of the family under the age of 16 was born as a result of separate pregnancies, a Sure Start Maternity Grant is to be awarded for all but one of the children mentioned in paragraph (5); and

(b) where two or more of those existing members of the family under the age of 16 were born as a result of a single pregnancy, the number of Sure Start Maternity Grants to be awarded in respect of the children mentioned in paragraph (5) is the number of children mentioned in paragraph (5) minus the maximum number of existing members of the family born as a result of a single pregnancy.]

[F3 (8) A Sure Start Maternity Grant shall be awarded if—

(a) at the date of claim, any existing member of the family is under the age of 16;

(b) the claimant is a person to whom paragraph (9) or (10) applies;

(c) no Sure Start Maternity Grant has been awarded to the claimant—

(i) where the claimant is a person to whom paragraph (9) applies, on or after 15th August 2021;

(ii) where the claimant is a person to whom paragraph (10) applies, on or after 24th February 2022; and

(d) the other conditions for entitlement to the grant are satisfied.

(9) This paragraph applies where the claimant is—

(a) a person who is granted leave in accordance with the immigration rules made under section 3(2) of the Immigration Act 1971 (“the 1971 Act”) by virtue of—

(i) Appendix Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy of those rules; or

(ii) the previous scheme for locally-employed staff in Afghanistan (sometimes referred to as the ex-gratia scheme); or

(b) a person in Great Britain not coming within sub-paragraph (a) who left Afghanistan in connection with the collapse of the Afghan government that took place on 15th August 2021.

(10) This paragraph applies where the claimant is a person who was residing in Ukraine immediately before 1st January 2022, who left Ukraine in connection with the Russian invasion which took place on 24th February 2022 and who —

(a) has a right of abode in the United Kingdom within the meaning given in section 2 of the 1971 Act;

(b) has been granted leave in accordance with immigration rules made under section 3(2) of the 1971 Act;

(c) has been granted, or is deemed to have been granted, leave outside those rules; or

(d) does not require leave to enter or remain in the United Kingdom in accordance with section 3ZA of the 1971 Act.]

Textual Amendments

F1 Reg. 5A substituted (13.8.2012) by The Social Fund Maternity Grant Amendment Regulations 2012 (S.I. 2012/1814), regs. 1(2), 2 (with reg. 3)

F2 Reg. 5A(3)(d) inserted (6.4.2018) by The Loans for Mortgage Interest and Social Fund Maternity Grant (Amendment) Regulations 2018 (S.I. 2018/307), regs. 1(2), 3(2)

F3 Reg. 5A(8)-(10) inserted (E.W.) (8.6.2023) by The Social Fund Maternity and Funeral Expenses (General) and Social Security (Claims and Payments) (Amendment) Regulations 2023 (S.I. 2023/545), regs. 1(2), 3(3)