Disability Living Allowance

"Disability" is legally defined in different ways, depending on the welfare benefit or service concerned. For Disability Living Allowance (DLA) it means how much extra help the child or young person needs in daily life. It does not depend on other definitions, such as being registered disabled, or having a Statement or other special needs provision at school.

DLA is quite a complicated welfare benefit, and this document is just a brief outline. We also publish a Guide to Claiming DLA for Children Under 16, with more detailed advice, which goes through the form point by point and helps with expressing the more difficult-to-analyse features of brain-related conditions.

DLA is tax free, is not means tested, and does not depend on having paid National Insurance contributions. From age 0 up to age 16, it is paid to the child’s main parent / carer. From age 16 onwards, it is normally claimed by the young person themselves but it can still be claimed on their behalf if they wish.

There are two types of DLA: the care component for those who need help with personal care; and a mobility component for those who need help in getting around. A child may qualify for one component or both, depending on their needs.

People who have moved abroad to another EEA State or Switzerland after 7th March 2001 may be able to keep their DLA/Carer’s Allowance/AA.

How to obtain an application form

From Jobcentre Plus / Social Security offices, or download forms from www.dwp.gov.uk/eservice (www.dsdni.gov.uk/index/ssa.htm for Northern Ireland) or tel: 0800 882 200 or 0845 601 8040.

The care component

The care component is paid at three different rates. Again broadly, the lower rate is for those who need attention with bodily functions for a significant portion of the day. The middle rate is for those who need frequent attention with bodily functions during the day, or prolonged or repeated attention at night. The higher rate is for those who need attention during both day and night.

For children under the age of 16, to receive the care component it has to be shown that they require substantially more attention or supervision than a child of the same age normally needs. For instance, if your child requires supervision when eating to ensure s/he does not choke, you will have to show that the attention given is substantially more than would have to be given to a child of the same age anyway.

In practice this question comes down to the amount of time taken. Parents are expected to spend a certain amount of time attending to and supervising their children even if they are completely healthy. So what you have to show is that you spend substantially more time doing these things for your child due to the disability.

There is no lower age limit for the DLA care component.

When considering these matters the adjudicating officers will look for either one substantial period of time, say 40 minutes to an hour, or a number of occasions amounting to about an hour a day. It often helps before completing the forms to keep a diary for a short while listing all of the time you spend attending or supervising your child.

Very often these things become so much a matter of daily routine that carers forget all of the things that they do: especially parents who have been used to doing things from the birth of the child onwards. For example it is sometimes easy to forget that you are dressing a child of, say, 7, who would otherwise be able to do this for themselves.

The mobility component

The mobility component is paid at two rates.

Broadly the higher rate is for those who are unable to walk, or are virtually unable to walk, or are both deaf and blind, or are severely mentally and behaviourally impaired. Those with severe visual impairment alone may receive the higher rate from 11th April 2011 (more details: RNIB, http://tinyurl.com/35abhby, tel: 0303 123 9999). The lower rate is for those who can walk, etc., but need someone to provide guidance or supervision most of the time when they are outdoors.

If a child is likely to be eligible for the higher rate mobility component, you may apply three months before their third birthday, so that payments can begin on it. At the lower rate, a child would not be entitled to this component under the age of five.

Points to note about your DLA claim

Don’t be put off by the form - yes it is long but take your time. Consider each question carefully.

Get two copies of the form if possible, or photocopy it, and use one copy for a rough draft.

Tick as many boxes as apply: many people make the mistake of not ticking as many boxes as apply to their case but going into detail in comments sections. Comments are screened from the adjudicator’s view unless you have ticked the right boxes. Also the adjudicators only have a fixed time they can spend on each application.

Don’t appear too positive about your child’s condition. Many people tend to look on the bright side with their child, but in this exercise you must be 100% objective as to the help you give them. This, as depressing as the thought may be, often means being quite negative - don’t think of the week when you only had to get up three nights to help toileting but remember that most weeks it was five or six nights and often more than once. This is why a diary as mentioned above can be very useful. Or imagine that you had to leave your child with a complete stranger for a week and had to leave instructions for them. You should also attach any medical reports that are relevant.

Keep a copy of the final version you send off.

If at first you don’t succeed, appeal! Many people accept a refusal, or an award of a lower rate than they are entitled to, without considering an appeal. Appeals initially go to another adjudicating officer: if you still feel that the correct award has not been made you can appeal to a Tribunal. If you have, say Middle Rate Care, but feel that your circumstances merit the Higher Rate, be aware that an appeal can adjust an award down as well as up. It may be some months before the appeal is heard, but any award will be backdated, in most cases to the time of your original claim.

The rates of Benefit for DLA

From April 2011 these are:

Mobility: higher rate £51.40, lower rate £19.55.

Care: highest rate £73.60, middle rate £49.30, lowest rate £19.55.

From the above you can see that it could well be worthwhile applying for DLA.

With Higher Rate Mobility, a VED Road Tax exemption form should automatically be sent by the Dept. for Work and Pensions. More details: leaflet V188 "Exemption from Vehicle Excise Duty for disabled people" from main Post Offices or the DVLA.

Also with Higher Rate Mobility, the Motability scheme allows this component to be used to buy or hire a car. Application form from Motability, www.motability.co.uk, tel: 0845 456 4566.

DLA is a passport to some other things, including the Independent Living Fund (for over 15’s) and the Cinema Card. For more information about these, as well as the Blue Badge parking scheme and the Hospital Benefits Rules that affect DLA and other Benefits, please see Document 1031, Welfare Rights and Benefits for Children.