New Baby Support Checklist

• What is your plan for transport to the hospital? Think about whether you need a taxi, a lift from a friend or will use your own car.
• Have you got the the correct child seat for the newborn baby? There are strict laws in the UK regarding car seats and you will not be able to take home the baby unless you have a group 0 or 0+ type seat. 

View Gov.uk for more details on children's car seat law

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• If in financial difficulty possible options for sourcing car seats/prams are:
  • Baby Basics centres or Baby Banks (see referral below)
  • Kiltonga Centre, 9 Enterprise Road, Bangor tel:07748 235009. They often have a range of buggies and car seats and recommend a donation of £25 for a buggy and £15 for a car seat. Open Tuesdays and Thursdays 10-3
  • St Vincent de Paul
  • Surestart

• If you have older children, do you have a plan of where they will stay when you as parents are in the hospital?

• Have you packed a bag with items for the mother and new-born for the hospital? It is normally recommended to have this ready by a month before the due-date in case the baby comes early

• A Sure Start grant of £500 can be applied for if this is your first baby or first baby born in Northern Ireland This can be done 11 weeks prior to birth and up to 6 months after the birth.  Use the SF100 maternity grant online. Please note you need to send specific documents and information in with this form once you have filled it in. These are listed on the form and are:

A MATB1 form from a health professional which must include:

• Your name
• Your National Insurance number
• The expected week of confinement/due date if the baby is not born yet
• The date of birth of child or children if already born
• The health professional’s full name and signature, surgery or office address
• The health professional’s PIN number
• The health professional’s/surgery contact telephone number

Photocopies of BRP cards for both parents of the new child, Mum and Dad

Send all of the above along with the form to: Sure Start Maternity Grants, Mail Opening Unit, PO Box 42, LIMAVADY, BT49 4AN or take it to your local Jobs & Benefits office. Make sure you have photos/copies of everything you send so that you can show if needed, and send by registered post or 1^st class signed for.

The helpline if needed is 0800 022 4250 – you can request an interpreter in your language if needed. [please note there is another number 0800 169 0140 which does NOT deal with Northern Irish records, so do not ring that number!]

• If you are struggling to buy all the things that you need for the new baby, Baby Basics (https://baby-basics.org.uk/) or Baby Banks often provide a starter pack of items needed usually including a Moses Basket, nappies, some clothes etc.

In Belfast, you can contact East Belfast Baby Bank (BT5 6AB) on [email protected] or use the referral form.

The Baby Basics organisations require referral from a professional agency (such as midwives, Surestart, Cultural Liaison, hospitals etc.)  YOU CANNOT SELF-REFER. They will also need to nominate a professional to pick up the items for you, you cannot pick them up yourself.

Please ask your midwife/social worker/support agency to contact: Baby Basics (BT13 3NG)  [email protected]

Outside Belfast, you could also try: [email protected] or 07935 297583; Baby Basics Causeway at [email protected] or 07719 635311; [email protected] or 07434 626038; Baby Basics Antrim and Newtownabbey at [email protected] on Office: 02893 354814 or Mobile: 07834 544802; Baby Basics Banbridge at [email protected] or 02840 669086; and [email protected] on 07856 885737

• An application for Healthy Start vouchers can be made when a woman is on benefits or low income (the household income limit is £408/month at May 23, check https://www.healthystart.nhs.uk/how-to-apply/ for up to date info) and is 10 weeks pregnant or has a child under 4 years old . 

Completed forms should be sent to through to: Freepost RRTR-SYAE-JKCR, Healthy Start Issuing Unit, PO Box 1067, Warrington, WA55 1EG or you could try emailing it to: [email protected].

Applicants can follow up with the application by calling 0300 330 7010 and once passed security ask for a call back with an interpreter (usually within 48 hours).  Make sure you have your application reference number when you call.

A vitamin voucher is available every two months (sent with the four food vouchers). To recoup it in NI post, send the relevant part of the Healthy Start voucher with your address and the green vitamin coupon still attached to: Healthy Start Vitamin Scheme, Pinewood Villa, 73 Loughgall Road, Armagh, BT61 7PR

Vitamin drops are sent to the house with a return envelope to recoup the subsequent vitamin voucher.

• You need to register the birth within 42 days of the baby’s birth date, at your local Town/City Hall. A registration form will need to be completed.  This can be downloaded from Birth registration form | nidirect, and can even be edited and saved in soft copy.  Some hospitals give the form to the baby’s family along with their new baby’s Red Book.   Check with the local Registrar about Identity Documents to bring and whether it is appointment or drop-in registration.

A free ‘short’ birth certificate is provided at registration, but all families require a full/‘long’ birth certificate costing, £8, and we recommended asking for two full/long birth cert, costing £16 altogether (this means that you will have a spare if one is being sent off to any organisation).  It is best to get these at your birth registration appointment, as any other full/long birth certificate required after registration will cost £16 each and can only be processed in Belfast City Hall.  Make photocopies/take a photo of both certificates to have while the originals are sent off to other agencies.

• A yellow sheet with the baby’s name and Health & Care (NHS) number is printed by the Registrar and needs to be taken to the GP for health registration.  Be sure to make a record of your baby’s H&C number in case you are asked for it.

• You need to inform Child Benefit that a new baby has been born.  It is generally easier to apply online for child benefit (new claim or adding a child on an existing claim) at  https://www.gov.uk/child-benefit/how-to-claim, as then only the ref no. is required, not the full certificate.

If paper is preferred, download the CH2 form from Child Benefit. Complete and send an original Birth certificate to Child Benefit. The birth certificate will be returned by post to you. Child Benefit can take up to 26 weeks to be paid for a new child.

Some useful tips: Q18 – If you are a Syrian or Afghan family arrived in the UK under a refugee scheme, you have leave to remain so are NOT subject to immigration control; Q20 looking for work – if you are not working, choose neither online, or say looking if on paper; Q31, normally Child Benefit is in the mother’s name, so husband is not entitled unless previous children from a different partner – remember which parent has Child Benefit, so that you can add the new baby onto their claim.

• If you receive Child Tax Credit (usually if you are on a legacy benefit e.g. JSA/ESA etc. or low income, but NOT if you are on Universal Credit) the baby needs to be registered with them.  Easiest way is through webchat or phonecall: https://www.gov.uk/manage-your-tax-credits, or 028 9053 8192

• If you are on Universal Credit, you need to update your account under Change of Circumstances: You may be asked to provide the Birth certificate at your local Jobs and Benefits Office (or to upload it onto your UC account).

• Email an attached photo/scan of the birth certificate to Northern Ireland Housing Executive (Sheila Kerr; Gareth) , the local NIHE Housing Benefit office and if claiming legacy benefits inform them by phone call or email. 

• Biometric Permit: You can apply for the Biometric permit for your new child via their solicitors, or you can send the following required information to the Department for Communities for the BRP application :
  • Original full/ “Long” Birth certificate (will be returned);
  • 4 official passport photos (which can be done at most pharmacies) of the baby with name and D.O.B (date of birth) written on the back;
  • Proof of parents address (e.g. Bank Statement);
  • Photocopies of the front and back of both parents biometric cards and email address of one of the parents.

Send the above documents to:  Jonny McMillan, Refugee and Asylum Support and Integration Division, Room A5.05, Castle Buildings, Stormont Estate, Belfast, BT4 3SR

From December 24, Biometric Residency Permits will be completely digital, and you will get an eVisa rather than a BRP. If your baby is born after this date please check Online immigration status (eVisa) - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)