Parents of children with disabilities are being urged to check if they’re eligible for Child Disability Payment.
Since the launch of the benefit more than £130 million has been distributed to thousands of families in Scotland.
According to figures from the Scottish Government, families of over 54,000 children and young people were receiving Child Disability Payment in December last year – with 13,000 of these being new applications.
In addition, more than 41,000 children and young people have had their award transferred from Disability Living Allowance for children from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) to Child Disability Payment.
What is Child Disability Payment?
Child Disability Payment helps cover the extra costs of caring for a disabled or terminally ill child or young person.
Parents, or carers, can apply for the benefit for a child living with a disability, either physical or mental, under the age of 16.
Applications can also be made without a diagnosis, however, parents will need to tell Social Security Scotland about how the child is affected and any symptoms.
Social Security Scotland will pay Child Disability Payment until the child is 18 with the possibility to extend this depending on specific circumstances.
How much is Child Disability Payment?
The benefit is tax-free and takes into consideration both care requirements and mobility.
The care component has three different payment rates: lowest, middle and highest.
In the lowest care payments, the recipient will get £24.45 per week, in the middle they’ll receive £61.85 per week and the highest is £92.40.
There are two payment rates for the mobility component – lower and higher.
The lower payment is a weekly rate of £24.45 while the higher is £64.50.
It’s important to be aware that the amount a child could receive is dependent on various criteria you’ll need to meet during the application process.
Child Disability Payment is normally paid every four weeks in arrears. It’ll be paid into the account details the provided as part of the application.
Check and apply
As the cost of living crisis continues to grip the nation, parents and carers across Scotland are being encouraged to make sure they’re not missing out.
Minister for Social Security Ben Macpherson said: “Child Disability Payment helps parents to support their children and assists young people to live their lives to the fullest. Therefore, it is welcome news that so far more than £130 million in Child Disability Payments has been distributed to thousands of families with disabled children, to help cover extra costs.
“New applications are increasing, and Social Security Scotland is working to process these as quickly as they can, while seeking to ensure that right decisions are made first time. We are only being asked to look again at decisions in a very small proportion of cases.
“The process of transferring people’s awards from the DWP’s DLA for children to our Child Disability Payment is also continuing at pace, and on course to be almost entirely complete in the spring.
“The Scottish social security system has been designed in partnership with those who have experience of applying for benefits previously. This has helped us to build a system that is easier to access, and where people are treated with dignity, fairness and respect.
“I urge anyone who thinks they, their child or someone they know may be eligible for Scottish Government benefits to check and apply.”
Edinburgh mum Jamee Killin also echoed the minister’s calls, adding: “The process of applying was straightforward and the staff were extremely helpful. I have already recommended it to people and would urge anyone who thinks they might be eligible to apply.”
For more, or to check if you’re eligible for the Child Disability Payment, click here.
