Benefits and help for disabled children and families

There are different types of benefit:

means-tested and non means-tested

contributory and non-contributory

Benefits can be divided into 3 broad categories:

benefits to replace earnings,

benefits to compensate for extra costs

& those which help alleviate poverty

Within the benefits and tax credits system there are

 5 main tests of disability:

incapacity for work

statutory sick pay, incapacity benefit, industrial injuries,

war pensioners unemployability

needing care, supervision or watching over by another person

disability living allowance, attendance allowance

unable or virtually unable to walk

disability living allowance

degree of disablement

industrial and war disablement, vaccine damage payment

at a disadvantage in getting a job

the disability element of working tax credit

substantially and permanently disabled

used to get a reduction in council tax, register for services with your local authority

physical or mental impairment which has a substantial and long-term adverse effect on ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities

used to define disability under the Disability Discrimination Act

Means-tested benefits (income related) are affected by most other types of income and the amount of savings you have. Child tax credit and working tax credit are only affected by the income from your savings, not by the actual savings themselves. Your National Insurance (NI) contributions are not taken into account.

Ø     child tax credit

Ø     council tax benefit

Ø     housing benefit

Ø     income-based jobseeker`s allowance

Ø     income support

Ø     pension credit

Ø     social fund

Ø     working tax credit

Non-means tested benefits are not usually affected by other money you have although those marked with an asterix* can be affected by your earnings or your occupational or private pension. There are 2 types of benefit here, contributory and non-contributory. Those which are contributory are dependent upon you having paid in a sufficient amount of National Insurance Contributions. For Non-Contributory your NI record does not matter.

Contributory Benefits

Ø     bereavement allowance

Ø     bereavement payment

Ø     contribution-based jobseeker`s allowance*

Ø     incapacity benefit*

Ø     maternity allowance*

Ø     state pension (category A or B)

Ø     widowed parent`s allowance

Non-Contributory Benefits

Ø     disability living allowance

Ø     attendance allowance

Ø     carer`s allowance*

Ø     child benefit

Ø     guardian`s allowance

Ø     industrial injuries benefits

Ø     state pension (category D)

Ø     statutory adoption pay

Ø     statutory maternity pay

Ø     statutory paternity pay

Ø     stautory sick pay

Ø     war disablement pensions

How does the Benefits System Work ?

The Department for Work & Pensions is the governent body which oversees 6 delivery organisations. The newest of the is the Job Centre Plus which is now responsible for the majority of benefits which can be claimed by people of working age. In theory they can be the first point at which DLA can be claimed. DLA, AA, Carer`s Allowance, Vaccine Damage payments are administered by the Disability & Carer`s Service.

The Pension Service and Child Support Service are self-explanatory.

Debt Management is responsible for the recovery of debts or fraudulent claims and the Appeals Service administers independent tribunals e.g. if you were refused DLA when you would have been expected to be given an award.

Recently many services offered by previously local offices have become telephone call centres so that you may be talking to someone in another part of the country about your claim. This is particularly so with the Pension Service which is now based in Wales. Many people have found this to be frustrating and confusing.

Tax credits are administered by the Inland Revenue although you can claim them through Job Centre Plus. BDIN has found that the admittedly complicated calculations have often been miscalculated and payments have been delayed. In one instance a client has consistently been overpaid and was aware she would have to pay it back. BDIN and the client have contacted the Inland Revenue on several occassions by phone and letter but the situation has taken months to resolve. How frustrating to be given money you can`t spend.

Disabled children

The most common benefit applicable to disabled children is Disability Living Allowance (DLA). DLA can be claimed irrespective of income. It can even be claimed and given to people working full time. It is not taxed.

There are 2 components of DLA, Care Component and Mobility Component. There are 3 rates of care component, lower, middle and higher. There are 2 rates of mobility component, lower and higher.

Care Component

To qualify for this the care needs must stem from the disability.

The child (under the age of 16) must need care, supervision or watching over and that the needs are `substantially in excess of the normal requirements of persons their age` or

they have `substantial` care, supervision or watching over needs `which younger persons in normal physical or mental health may also have but which persons of their age and in normal physical and mental health would not have`

 The child must also satisfy numbers 1 to 5 of the disability tests.

The wording is as follows:

during the day

1.      frequent attention throughout the day in connection with bodily functions or

2.      continual supervision throughout the day in order to avoid substantial danger to yourself or others

at night

3.      prolonged or repeated attention in connection with bodily functions or

4.      in order to avoid substantial danger to yourself or others you require another person to be awake for a prolonged period or at frequent intervals for the purpose of watching over you

part-time day care

5.      you require in connection with your bodily functions attention from another person for a significant portion of the day (whether during a single period or a number of periods) or

cooking test

6.      you cannot prepare a cooked main meal for yourself if you have the ingredients (for people over 16 only)

Highest rate care component is paid if you satisfy either or both number 1 or number 2 daytime tests and either or both number 3 or number 4 night time tests. In other words your care or supervision needs are spread throughout the day and night.

Middle rate component is paid if you satisfy either or both number 1 or number 2 daytime tests or either or both number 3 or number 4 night time tests. In other words your care or supervision needs are spread throughout the day or night.

Lower rate component is paid if you satisfy number 5 or 6. For a child under 16 you would need to satisfy number 5 only.

If a baby or child is terminally ill you do not have to have a qualifying period and payment can be made from birth.

For a severely disabled baby you can apply from birth but will be paid from 13 weeks. A baby under the age of 1 year  is likely to qualify if they have disabilities such as severe hearing or vision impairment, severe multiple disabilities, frequent loss of consciousness, frequent fits associated with metabolic disease, renal failure, cystic fibrosis, cerebral palsy or extremely premature birth.

If a DLA award is made this can have a beneficial effect on other benefits. You may get a disabled child premium in assessment of housing benefit and council tax benefit. You may also get a disabled child element included in the assessment of child tax credit.

If your baby is awarded DLA at higher or middle rate you may qualify for Carer`s Allowance.

From the age of 2 years you may claim vaccine damage payment and you can claim a Blue Badge. You can also ask for a Special Educational Needs Assessment.

Even if your child is not fully mobile there may still be reasons for increased supervision such as children with brittle bones who may fall, children with hearing or sight impairment who may be unaware of dangers, children with impeded mobility as may be in the case of cerebral palsy, children who need to have their position regularly changed, children with a severe learning disability who need extra stimulation or supervision to prevent self harming. It is possible in some cases for the award to made up to the age of 6 years without review.

Weekly rates for DLA Care Component from April 2006 are as follows:

higher rate £62.25

middle rate £41.65

lower rate £16.50

Mobility Component

To qualify for lower rate mobility component you must be aged 5 years or over and must be `so severely disabled physically or mentally that, disregarding any ability you may have to use routes which are familiar to you on your own, you cannot take advantage of the faculty out of doors without guidance or supervision from another person most of the time` You must also need comparably more guidance and supervision that a child of that age in normal health.

To qualify for the higher rate you must be aged 3 years or over although you can make your claim 3 months prior to the birthday. Getting the higher rate also qualifies you for raad tax exemption and you can apply for a car through the Motability scheme. You may be able also to get funding for driving lessons from the Family Fund.

For the tests 1,2 and 3 listed below you must be `suffering from a physical disablement` but if severe learning difficulties have a physical cause you may also qualify. Your `physical condition as a whole` must be such that

1.      you are unable to walk

2.      you are virtually unable to walk

3.      the `exertion required to walk would constitute a danger to your life or would be likely to lead to a serious deterioration in your health`

4.      you have no legs or feet (from birth or amputation)

5.      you are both deaf and blind

6.      you are entitled to the highest rate care component and are severely mentally impaired with extremely disruptive and dangerous behavioural problems.

An excellent resource for benefits advice is