To apply for DD's child benefits & tax credits?

The Children's Services dept of your county council should be supporting you. They might be able to suggest sources of support, perhaps from a Family Support Worker or at your local Children's Centre. If you couldn't continue to care for the children, they might have to provide foster care, and they will certainly try to avoid this, as it's expensive and disruptive. CAB are another source of free advice, and should be able to put you right on certain benefit entitlements etc, as well as nursery and pre-school provision.

It's worth looking into the staus of "kinship carers". If the children are to live with you long-term, getting recognised as kinship carers effectively means that you become foster parents and get an allowance for this. It's not widely publicised, as it costs the local authority money, but it might be worth asking about.

Lots of good advice here but something I don't think has been mentioned is that you cannot rely on anything someone with alcohol and drug abuse says. They are likely to say whatever it is you want to hear but there is a strong chance that any money they get will be used to satisfy their addiction.

I feel strongly that you need to get something formally in place to ensure that you have the legal right to care for the children and that she cannot get them back on a whim. If they go to nursery the nursery need to be told they must not let the children go with anyone without your permission.

Your daughter needs help but the children must come first. Well done you for stepping up and looking after them, it can't be easy but right now they need security and you are it.

Thank you for your wisdom people we are currently trying to navigate our way through this situation

Get legal advice. The situation I most commonly saw in practice was that the parent in this type of pickle was happy for the kids to live elsewhere as long as they were left in full possession of the benefit book.

Once an attempt was made to stop them getting benefits for kids not living with them, they suddenly took the kids back.

Get legal advice before you do or say anything to her about the benefit book for that reason.

Good to read you're seeking legal advice. It's very important to do that early on -

Nana49 solicitor may have no benefit knowledge they often don’t! You should as I said before seek advice from Citizens Advice

There are no inlaws who can help to answer some posters. Unfortunately their father was very violent & does not see them at all, no in laws stayed in touch.

Thank you everyone for your advice. The children are both pre school & aged 2 & 4. We are going to consult a solicitor so we can consider options.

It may still be the case that when a child goes to live with someone else, there is a period (used to be 13 weeks) during which the Child Benefit continues in payment to the original person. During that period anything could happen. People change their mind, get back together, child goes to live with someone else. The administration would be a nightmare. After that period, it assumed that things are stable, and the Child Benefit would be changed. It is very complex now because the payment of other benefits is linked to the payment if Child Benefit. Please take advice.

Whoever has the children should get the benefits and as someone has previously said your daughter could get into trouble and have penalties if things are not done correctly .
Don't be an enabler to your daughters drug problems by allowing her to have this money the kids should have to "pay off her debts " she is probably using it for more drugs anyway.
Contact whoever you need to to make things right for the children. They should not suffer because of their mother's life choices. Is there a father in the picture that can help out in any way or paternal grandparents.?

The benefits follow the children not the parent. They are payable to the parent/guardian at the address where they live. Contact the benefits agency and explain the situation.

They don't need your DDs permission. When I first escaped I continued to claim child benefit for my DD who was in the sixth form and gave it to her every month to pay for bus fares, lunches etc. After a few months I got a letter from the DWP telling me that as she was still living with her father then he would be getting the money. Needless to say he didn't give it to her but that's another story.

If they're pre-school they will be entitled to 15 or 30 hours a week in nursery. Again you have to do this through the DWP as the school/nursery will need a reference number to claim the allowance.

If your daughter continues to claim benefits for the children it may lead to a fraud investigation by DWP into her benefits, so you really need to make sure you both get advice.
There are also other implications for her, if for example she has been getting housing benefit or housing costs under universal credit for rented property,she is likely now to have more bedrooms than she is allowed as a single person and will get less housing benefit and potentially fall into rent arrears, so She needs separate advice too!
I would say that if she genuinely is paying off debts with the money, she urgently needs to see a properly qualified debt adviser. anyone on benefits should not be diverting essential subsistence money to paying debts!, her local Citizens Advice can help with both benefit and debt advice, and I would strongly recommend help from them. Also Step change the free telephone based debt advice charity if she can’t get to her local Citizens Advice.
I also agree that you need to push social services on their side. They often try to make families take on arrangements without formal orders, because it saves money. but you should insist, and get the support you need.
Good luck with it all

Are the children of an age to get government paid nursery places or are they very young ?
The children’s money is just that, for the children and should go with them wherever they go and whoever they are with
It’s a tough call trying to work with two little ones around and I can understand why your husband is getting worried if you can’t afford a lawyer could CAB have any helpful info or try the free half hour with the solicitor Are there any other family members who could help one day a week ? Any in laws ?

Well, not to alarm you Nana49 but it is actually totally against the rules for your daughter to continue receiving benefits if the children are not living with her ( there is an eight week period where she can but not if the intention is that the children will stay more than eight weeks with another person)
As others have said they money is for the children and not to pay off her debts and she could actually be prosecuted for using it in this way. That would just add to her problems!
So for this money to be transferred to you would not be unreasonable of you or mean in any way but what should and must be done to stay within the law.
Please get advice and legal help in this very difficult situation.

I have no answer about your finances but have to say ‘well done’ for the support you are giving two young, vulnerable and probably confused children at this time.

Nana49, as others have said, the CB is for the children. It sounds as though the relationship with your daughter is strained, as is often the case where substance/alcohol abuse is involved.
Read the link MissA put on for you. My experience is that grandparents in your situation benefit from legal advice, sooner rather than later. In saying that, I'm not trying to cause alarm but this is the first time you've been in this situation and it's exhausting and confusing. A good lawyer whose name is included on the Children Panel, specialising in family law could help you. Best of luck.

All of the benefits, child benefit and child tax credits should be coming to you, as they are for the care of the children.
Your daughter will get an amount in her own right if she isn't working.
Payment for the children is completely separate.

www.grandparentsplus.org.uk/

This website has lots of information about situations very much like yours. Hope it helps.

Thank you Bibbity My DH keeps saying that we can't continue like this but I'm worried as soon as we make a claim that she'll be coming round demanding the children back. We want them back with her but obviously she has to be able to take care of them. However with no Parental rights we couldn't do anything if she decided she wanted them back (even if it was for financial reasons).

Should say the children's services are now involved but really slow... there were some problems with dangers around the children & I don't think they were getting the attention & care they need all of the time.
I'm unclear what my DD wants but I think she wants them back at some stage but is undergoing help. Because she won't talk to us we are a bit in the dark. I suspect she might not know what she wants at this stage.
She has asked me not to take her money as she is paying debts off.

Has anyone been in this situation & is there any other way to support them that we haven't thought about?

Of course you should! That money is not your daughters but the children's and should absolutely go to the person responsible for their day to day care.
However I would suggest involving SS and formaling residency etc.
They may drag their feet but I would advise pushing and demanding assistance.