Once

If you’ve just had a baby... We can help save you precious time

• How the new service can help you
• How you can contact us to use the service
• How long will an appointment last?
• Information to bring to your appointment
• Your responsibilities
• More information

When you have a new baby there are a number of government departments and Tameside Council services that need to be told. Until now, you had to contact all of them individually.

In Tameside we’re trying out a new service, which we hope will make things easier for you. This new service means you can just tell us and we’ll let these organisations know.

How the new service can help you

When you’ve had a baby, you need to register the birth with the registrar at Dukinfield Town Hall on 0161 342 5032. Once you’ve done this, you often have to contact several government departments and Tameside Council services to give them the same information. It’s important you do this as soon as possible because it may affect benefits you and your new baby are entitled to.

We want to make this easier for you. The Once Service means after you have registered the birth, you can give the information to us. We will then pass it to the Department of Work and Pensions - www.dwp.gov.uk  who will then pass it on to other government departments.

How you can contact us to use the service:

• Once you have registered the birth you can drop in to any Customer Services Centre to use the Once Service, no appointment is required.

  The customer services officer you speak to will also be able to help you update or complete new claims for Child Benefit, removing the need to send off the baby's Birth Certificate. We expect Child Benefit claims to be processed by HM Revenues and Customs within 9 working days.

• We can also supply the helpline number for Working Tax/Child Tax Credits, and if you are in receipt of certain income related benefits, your application may be fast tracked, reducing processing time from 20 days to 4 days.  If you wish to speak to an interpreter when using the telephone service, please request this when you ring and an interpreter will call you back and help you.

  Average call time to Her Majesty’s Revenues and Customs (HMRC) will take approximately 15 minutes. For Child Benefit payments set up within 9 working days.

How long will it take?

It will take approximately 20-30 minutes to provide the information needed for the Once Birth service.

Information to bring to your visit to Customer Services

You will need to bring the following information and documents.

• The service reference number issued by the Registrar
• National Insurance Number
• Child Benefit Number (if you have one)
• Bank Details (Account No & Sort Code)
• Birth Certificate for new born child
• Completed Child Benefit form, envelope and slip (if already completed)

There is also a Checklist in PDF Format 46.93 KB .

Your responsibilities

All the information you give us is confidential and will be treated securely. The organisations we talk to will only use the information we give them as the law allows.

The information you give us will be used by HM Revenue & Customs to work out benefits and Tax Credits you might be entitled to. So it is your responsibility to make sure that it is complete and up to date. If your circumstances change or you realise that you have given us the wrong information, you will need to contact the relevant organisations yourself.

If you are travelling abroad with your new baby you will also need a new child passport. More information is available on DirectGov's Child Passport page .

More information

If you would like to discuss the service in more detail or if you require further information please contact Customer Services on 0161 342 8355.

Contact Information
Send us a Message	Once Tameside MBC Council Offices Wellington Road Ashton under Lyne OL6 6DL  View local map
0161 342 8355