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Michael meets his partner whilst they are both residents of Aldo House
Michael meets his partner whilst they are both residents of Aldo House, both had previously been in foster care and children’s homes -
They move into their own accommodation and their son is born
They move into their own accommodation and shortly after their first child, Chris, is born. -
Relationship with partner deteriorates
Soon after this the birth of their son Michael's rationship with his partner begins to deteriorate. He suffers verbal and physical abuse from his partner and becomes the victim of constant intimidation from her family. -
Forced to leave his home.
Early this year he was forced to leave the house, moving into a small flat on his own. He visited and looked after his young son as often as his partner would allow. -
Makes new claim for income support
He made a new claim for income support but was informed that he would have to make a new claim for child benefit first. -
His partner no longer able to look after their son
Soon after this his partner informed social services that she was unable to cope with Chris and Michael took on full time care. -
Closes JSA claim
As he was now looking after his son full time Michael contacts the Job Centre in order to cancel his claim for JSA which he had been opened in February, -
Informed by HMRC that they had no record of his claim
After waiting three weeks he called up HMRC for an update on his claim; he was informed that there was no record of his claim and that he would have to apply again -
Forced to depend of Local Authority loans
In between Michael was forced to depend on Local Authority loans to get by, in total receiving £240. Michael along with his caseworker from Aldo house was informed that, due to unresponsiveness on his part, he was no longer eligible for further support. -
HRMC have recorded Michael's address wrong
After his case worker telephoned HMRC it became apparent that this unresponsiveness was the result of Michael’s address having been incorrectly recorded on the HMRC database. This was later corrected. -
Michael relys on local food bank to get by
During this period he was forced to rely on a local food bank to feed himself and his child. Due to the operators annual limit of three food packs per household this lifeline was soon exhausted. -
Informed that he is not eligable to recieve child benefit
At the same time Michael was informed that he could not open a new claim for child benefit due to the claim made for Chris's entitlement by his former partner. -
Informed his partner needs sign release
He was then informed that he would have to get his former partner to sign a form agreeing to any child benefit being transferred to his name -
No option but to rely on his former partner
Despite being made aware of the history of domestic abuse suffered by him at the hands of his partner HRMC informed him that any failure to get the form signed would only result in further delays to his benefit. -
Former partner un-cooperative
Staff at Aldo House invited his partner in so that she could end her claim and allow Michael to receive the money he needed to care for their child. When she arrived she was under the influence of alcohol and was refused entry, she quickly became abusive and staff were forced to cut off all ties with her. -
Advised by his MP to write to Department of Work and Pensions
After meeting with his local MP he was advised to write to the manager of the Department of Work and Pensions. -
Told by DWP that there is nothing they can do
Michael receieves a letter from the DWP stating that there was nothing which they could do to help. -
Support worker appeals to DWP
Michael’s support worker sent a letter querying his claim with the DWP explaining how desperate his situation had become. She receives no response. -
Michael feels that he has no where to turn
After 12 weeks without access to any means to support his infant son he had gotten to the stage were he felt that he had no where to turn. -
Support worker makes last bid appeal to Social Services
Michaels support worker phones Social Services in a last bid for aid. She is informed that they could only offer to write a supporting letter but first needed a letter from his solicitor stating that he had a residency order. -
Michael's solicitor unable to provide residency order
After visiting his solicitor he was told that he did not have a residency order and that he would have to apply for legal aid before this could go before court. -
Staff question highlight Section 17 of the Children's Act
Staff at Aldo House again phoned Social Services querying section 17 of the Children’s act with regards to the wellbeing of Michaels son; they were informed that due to budget cuts social services were no longer required to abide by this act. -
Social Services offer support only if situation is '100% desperate'
After again contacting social services staff were informed that financial assistance would only be offered in situations which were ‘100%’ desperate. Staff assured Social Services that his situation was extremely desperate; they were advised to call back later and try to speak to a higher management who could make a decision. -
Michael is offered income support
On the 6th of August Michael received a call from the DWP, after asking a few questions they agreed to make a payment to him that day for his income support. As the DWP only had confirmation that his former partner had stopped receiving child benefit on the 9th of July payment could only be backdated to this date.
