Lone parent interview for income support

[Stella66]

I claimed income support at the beginning of August. I am a lone parent with 3 children, the youngest is 3 years old. I was told my claim was going to proscessed within 2 weeks. I got a phone call today that l need to attend an interview at my local job centre. Now lm very puzzled, does that mean my claim is still to be processed, 4 weeks on, or is the interview a different thing, not part of the claim processing. I have been living on tax credits and crisis loans for the past 4 weeks, and have now run out of funds.

[black bunny]

First let me establish my credentials - I work in a Jobcentre.

A condition of claiming Income Support as a lone parent is that you attend and take part in this interview( which is to give you information on how better off you would be in work, what with tax credits,help with childcare costs etc)

If you don 't attend, you may lose benefit.

Having said that, four weeks is a long time to be without any money. I would advise you to contact the Jobcentre to get them to try and get the interview sorted now, it's unreasonable to wait any longer.
Once you've attended your interview, your claim will be processed, and you could request an urgent benefit payment on the day of the interview.