Having a child always leads to expense, but if the child has a disability, the expense is greater. Everyone who has a child is eligible for at least some welfare rights and benefits. The welfare system is very complicated, so this document is designed to give you an overview of what is available and how the different benefits and welfare services fit together. To actually claim the benefits, you will need your own financial details, along with more details about the individual benefits that you are interested in.

Benefits rates apply across the whole of the UK. They may change at any time of year, but usually they are adjusted in April. For all the up to date benefits rates, please refer to the Disability Alliance website, www.disabilityalliance.org/benrate.htm. This site also holds detailed advice about individual benefits and welfare services. If you do not have access to the Internet, our helpline can look at the site for you. Sometimes the regulations that apply to benefits change as well, so it is worth looking it up at least once a year to see what you are entitled to.

Some welfare benefits and services are given more automatically than others. Some are triggered by other things that you do, for example, free prescriptions for children are triggered by the process of registering them for health services. Some benefits are triggered by other benefits. Some have to be claimed if you want them. It is known that many benefits are not claimed by people who are entitled to them.  The websites and organisations listed at the end can help with checking.

Claim forms for any of the benefits mentioned are available from your local Jobcentre Plus/Social Security Office who will also have a range of leaflets, booklets, etc., giving further information. Many of these are available in different languages and formats. Claim forms for most benefits can also be found on the Internet.

Healthy Start is a milk, vitamins, formula milk, fruit and vegetables scheme for pregnant women under 18 and (means tested) for families with infants under four years.  Apply on form HS01, from midwives or the Department of Health web site. More information: www.healthystart.nhs.uk or tel: 0845 607 6823.

The Sure Start Maternity Grant is part of the Social Fund (see below). It is to help with the cost of things for a new baby, and is a one off payment, which does not have to be paid back. It is available to people on one of a range of other benefits. For more help with these costs, you may also be able to get a community care grant or a budgeting loan from the Social Fund.  The rules changed on 11 April 2011.  Form SF100, from Jobcentres or http://tinyurl.com/df4fr4.

If you are in receipt of any benefit, remember that an addition to your family may entitle you to additional benefit, and you can request a review of your benefits. If you are on a low income but not on means-tested benefits, a child or an additional child may mean that you will now qualify for a benefit, e.g. Child Tax Credit, Working Tax Credit, or Housing / Council Tax Benefit.

Working parents: rules for maternity, paternity and adoption leave, flexible working and other workplace rights for parents, can be found on the government website Directgov, www.direct.gov.uk/en/parents/index.htm or the ACAS helpline, tel: 08457 474747. These rights have been extended in recent years.

Free prescriptions are given to all children under 16, or under 19 if in full-time education. (In Wales, prescriptions are free for everyone.) You will need to get an NHS card for the child and register them with a G.P. using Form FP58, which is given when you register your child’s birth. Children aged 16 and over with some disabilities or illnesses may still get free prescriptions. For others, the national prepayment scheme for 3-month or 1-year periods may reduce the cost: ask the local pharmacist for details.

Child Benefit is paid for each dependent child, whatever your income, until they are sixteen and, in some cases, for longer. Child Benefit Helpline: 08453 021 444.

The Child Trust Fund pays an amount for investment into a savings account for most children born between 1st September 2002 and 2nd January 2011.  Helpline: 0845 302 1470.

Tax Credits are divided into Child (CTC) and Working (WTC) types, and are paid or adjusted following an income check on each past year. More information: HMRC, www.hmrc.gov.uk/thelibrary/tax-credits.htm, tel: 0845 300 3900.

Free milk is available to children aged 5 -16 with complex needs who cannot attend school. Claim on Form FW20 from: Disability Benefits Unit, Room A112, Lobby D, Warbreck House, Warbreck Hill Road, Blackpool FY2 0YE, tel: 08457 123456.

The Family Fund is a government-funded scheme to help families with children aged under 18 who are disabled or seriously ill. It gives grants for specific items for the child or family. The "Family Fund Extra" scheme gives discounts on items from major High Street names. www.familyfund.org.uk, tel: 08449 744099.

Disability Living Allowance (DLA) helps with the extra costs of looking after a disabled child. It is not means tested or dependent on National Insurance contributions. It is paid in addition to any other income you have, and is tax free. If the Higher Rate Mobility Component of DLA is awarded, this can be used for a car under the Motability Scheme. More details about DLA are available here and in our Guide to Claiming DLA.

Carer’s Allowance is a benefit that depends partly on what other benefits you receive, partly on income, and partly on how many hours you spend looking after someone with a disability. It has an effect on other benefits and entitlements. Fuller details of this are available at www.direct.gov.uk/en/MoneyTaxAndBenefits/BenefitsTaxCreditsAndOtherSupport/Caringforsomeone/DG_10018705  and in our Carers Allowance factsheet.

Premiums: a family in receipt of income-related benefits may qualify for extra Disabled Child Premiums, and possibly a Carer Premium.

National Insurance Credit System: Home Responsibilities Protection (HRP), a scheme that helped protect your entitlement to State Retirement Pension later in life, was scrapped in April 2010. It has been replaced by a national insurance credit system, more details: Pensions Advisory Service, www.pensionsadvisoryservice.org.uk/State_Pensions/Home_Responsibilities_Protection, tel: 0845 601 2923.

Voluntary National Insurance contributions. If, like many carers, you have paid these since 25 May 2006 towards qualifying for a basic State pension, unaware that the extent of NI contributions needed is going to reduce, you can request a refund from HM Revenue and Customs. It is also possible to buy additional "years" in one lump sum if, otherwise, you are not going to be entitled to a pension. More information: www.hmrc.gov.uk/cnr/osc.htm, tel: 0845 302 1479.

Carers and work. Many benefits claimants with children, who are not in the workplace are invited to compulsory work focused interviews particularly where the children are all over 11 years old. This does not necessarily mean that a parent with extra caring responsibilities will have to go back to work, although many do. There may be a small sum per week available on top of Income Support to try out work activities. More information about possibilities for carers: www.direct.gov.uk/en/CaringForSomeone or Carers UK, tel: 0808 808 7777.

For semi-independent young people. 19 year olds completing a course of non-advanced education or an approved training scheme which they started before their 19th birthday are entitled to Child Benefit, Child Tax Credit, Housing Benefit, Council Tax Benefit, and Income Support. This will be paid until they reach 20. The extension also applies to some benefits where adults are claiming for children. ESA (Employment and Support Allowance) is in the process of replacing Incapacity Benefit and Income Support on incapacity grounds. Young people aged over 16 will become eligible for this in their period of transition from children’s to adult services, even while they are still studying. More information: www.direct.gov.uk/en/MoneyTaxAndBenefits/BenefitsTaxCreditsAndOtherSupport/Illorinjured/DG_171894, tel: 0800 055 66 88. Based on an assessment process, young people will move into an ESA work stream, where they will be expected to look for work, or an ESA support stream, if they have a severe disability.

Volunteering, under several national schemes, has become a recognised path for young people under 25. More details: National Youth Agency, www.nya.org.uk/youthinformation-com/employment-and-training, tel: 0116 242 7350.

Adaptations

You may be able to get assistance with adapting your existing home to meet the needs of a disabled child, e.g. making it easier for him/her to get to their room, or creating a ground-floor bedroom. A Disabled Facilities Grant can help those who are owner-occupiers or private tenants. Many adaptations will come under the mandatory scheme; they are, however, means tested. Apply to the local authority’s Housing Department.  Minor adaptations and equipment, e.g. handrails around the toilet, or for environmental control systems may be available from your Social Services Department.

Education

SEN. You can apply to the Local Education Authority (LEA) for an assessment of a child’s special educational needs. This is at the LEA’s discretion until the child is two years old. After that, they must formally agree or decline to assess and if they decline you have a right of appeal. Nurseries and schools may also put special educational arrangements in place more informally, in collaboration with you. Provision may include one-to-one help, a differentiated curriculum, extra time for tests and exams, and other help. More information: Document 1038. It is easier to keep track of the process if you apply in writing.

Free school food. Children in families on benefits related to low income are entitled to free school lunches. www.direct.gov.uk/en/Parents/Schoolslearninganddevelopment/SchoolLife/DG_4016089, or more details from your local authority. Some schools also have breakfast schemes.

Special diets. Children who need special items, such as wheat and gluten free foods, may be able to have a supply free on prescription from a G.P.

Education Maintenance Allowance is for students aged 16 – 18, and sometimes 19, staying on at school or in an approved training scheme, studying in Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland. Students from families in receipt of Income Support, Income based Jobseeker’s Allowance, or on a low income are entitled and may also receive travel expenses; more information www.direct.gov.uk/en/EducationAndLearning/14To19/MoneyToLearn/16to19bursary/DG_067575 or through the education provider.  For those studying in England, on 1st January 2011 EMA was replaced for new claimants by 16-19 bursaries; more information: http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/EducationAndLearning/14To19/MoneyToLearn/16to19bursary/index.htm. The range of education benefits is wider for some benefits is wider for some students, ask the school or college, or the local Education Board in Northern Ireland. 

Health

Free prescriptions, free dental examinations and help with the cost of dental treatment, free sight tests and help with the cost of glasses, and fares to hospital. People on benefits related to low income qualify for these. Others who are not on benefits may still qualify for some help if they are a young person in education, or they have a specific disability or condition. A Medical Exemption Certificate may be required. If none of these apply but the person has a low income, a reduction voucher can be claimed on forms available at hospitals, post offices, opticians, benefit offices or the Prescription Pricing Authority. More information: leaflet HC11, www.nhsbsa.nhs.uk/healthcosts/1558.aspx, tel: 0845 850 1166.

To help with travel and overnight accommodation to visit a child who is in hospital, families on a low income may be eligible for a Community Care Grant from the Social Fund. Apply on form SF300, from Jobcentre Plus (Social Security Office in Northern Ireland) or the Department of Work and Pensions (in Great Britain), www.dwp.gov.uk/advisers/claimforms/sf300_print.pdf. Sometimes there is also help available from the hospital or charities: enquire from the hospital – a starting point is the Patient Advice and Liaison Service (PALS), in hospitals where this service is available. Benefits and grants are not always available to cover all the costs. Families (especially when on holiday, even within the UK) sometimes find travel / other insurance policies useful as well.

Hospital benefits rules. Some benefits reduce during a long stay in hospital. "Linking rules" determine how this happens if there is a series of hospital stays, and how they are reinstated afterwards. This can be complicated and it is best to seek advice (PALS, or see "Benefits Advice" below) about your individual case.  More information: http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/DisabledPeople/HealthAndSupport/Hospitals/DG_4000474

Vaccine Damage Payment. For severe disability or death resulting from vaccination in the UK or Isle of Man, against one of a range of diseases, before age 18. Claims must be made before age 21. The award is a lump sum of £120,000. The money is tax-free but it can affect other benefits and entitlements. More information: Vaccine Damage Payments Unit, tel: 01772 899 944, or from the Directgov web site: www.direct.gov.uk/en/MoneyTaxAndBenefits/BenefitsTaxCreditsAndOtherSupport/Disabledpeople/DG_10018714.

Leisure and travel

The Cinema Card entitles people with DLA, AA or who are registered blind, to take someone with them to the cinema free. There are no age restrictions for the Card and about 90% of cinemas participate. £5.50 processing fee, lasts for a year.  Application forms from cinemas or www.ceacard.co.uk.

Other leisure schemes, such as swimming passes, may be available locally. More information from your local authority or tourist information centre.

The Disabled Railcard costs £20 per year / £54 per 3 years for people aged 5 years or over, and gives discount off rail fares and some other services. Children under 16 get a 50% discount anyway, but for some journeys the railcard will still work out better where it also gives a discount to an accompanying adult. There are also other railcards available. More information: railway stations, www.disabledpersons-railcard.co.uk, or tel: 0845 605 0525. Also check for other local travel and leisure discount schemes with your Local Authority.

Free local bus and coach travel for disabled people. Children with disabilities, or sometimes for other reasons, may have a taxi or a free bus service to and from school. Locally there may be additional general or special schemes. More information: www.freebustravel.co.uk, or telephone the local authority’s transport department.

The Blue Badge Scheme allows you to park a car in designated places, to provide easier access. It applies both to drivers with disabilities, and parents of children with disabilities. Apply to the local authority. More information from the local authority or www.direct.gov.uk/en/DisabledPeople/MotoringAndTransport/Bluebadgescheme/DG_4001061. (links to UK regions)

European Health Insurance Card (EHIC). For free or reduced cost health care in Europe. Apply for or renew the EHIC for each person travelling, by phone at 0845 605 0707, or online at www.ehic.org.uk/Internet/home.do. Please note, travel insurance is still needed as well as the Card.

Independent Living Fund

This fund is to pay for care that enables people to live at home with some independence. More information: ILF, www.direct.gov.uk/en/MoneyTaxAndBenefits/BenefitsTaxCreditsAndOtherSupport/Disabledpeople/DG_4019444, tel: 0845 601 8815. Eligibility is from age 16 onwards, however the Fund is currently closed to new applications.

Child support

The scheme for child maintenance (a financial contribution from separated parents) changed in March 2003. For those on both schemes (pre- and post- March 2003), the national helpline is the Child Support Agency, 08457 133133, www.csa.gov.uk.

Legal costs

For those wanting some help with the costs of getting legal advice and representation, there are various avenues. Some voluntary organisations such as charities, Citizens Advice ("the CAB") and Law Centres can provide legal help up to a point, as can some schemes funded by national and local government, such as Parent Partnership schemes in education. Home/vehicle insurance policies and membership of organisations such as Trade Unions often make some free legal help available.

For those who need a solicitor or face going to a Tribunal or a Court, people on a low income (including children) can also get various forms of free legal assistance. These are popularly grouped under the heading of Legal Aid, although as well as Legal Aid itself there are Legal Help, Family Help, Family Mediation, Help at Court, Legal Representation, and Controlled Legal Representation. The Community Legal Advice helpline is for England and Wales, tel: 0845 345 4 345, www.legalservices.gov.uk/public/community_legal_advice.asp. Scottish Legal Aid Board, www.slab.org.uk, tel: 0845 122 8686 (for contacts, not advice).  Northern Ireland Legal Services Commission, www.nilsc.org.uk, tel: 028 9040 8888.

Another way is to enter into a "no-win-no-fee" agreement with a solicitor. This does not necessarily mean an absence of costs. Some solicitors and barristers are willing to do a small amount of "pro bono" (free) work. Many solicitors will offer a free first interview: this should not include advice, but should only be to establish what they may be able to do for you, whether you are eligible for Legal Aid, and what costs and conditions there are.

Social Fund

Funeral Payment. Claim within three months of the funeral. Form SF200 from www.direct.gov.uk/en/Diol1/DoItOnline/DG_4017717 or a local Jobcentre Plus.

Sure Start Maternity Grant. Claim form from a local Jobcentre Plus or Directgov. (In Northern Ireland, from the local Social Security / Jobs and Benefits Office, or www.dsdni.gov.uk/ssa.)  For babies due, born or adopted from 11 April 2011 onwards, the Grant is only available under certain conditions, principally where there are no other children under 16 in the family.

Cold Weather Payment. Automatic payment if eligible (e.g. receiving another benefit for a disabled child. Triggered by the temperature as measured at your nearest monitoring site. Not the same as the Winter Fuel Payment made to people over 60). The Energy Advice Line, www.est.org.uk/myhome, tel: 0800 512 012, advises on energy-related benefits and discounts, and energy efficiency measures. Warm Front (also given other titles) is a related scheme, not part of the Social Fund but it helps people on Disability Living Allowance or means tested benefits (and some others) with energy measures to make homes warmer. www.warmfront.co.uk, tel: 0800 316 2805. (New eligibility criteria from 14 April 2011).

Community Care grants can be made to ease "exceptional pressures." More information: a local Jobcentre Plus, or Directgov (Page Ref: DG_10018921). (In some places these are called "Exceptional Needs grants".)

Crisis loans can also be made from the Social Fund. More details: a local Jobcentre Plus, or Directgov (Page Ref: DG_10018856).

The budgeting loans scheme arranges small interest-free loans for essential items. More details: a Jobcentre Plus, or Directgov (Page Ref: DG_10018905).

Other Help

Social care. A child with a disability can (but does not have to) be "registered" with the local Social Services Department. Local authorities are under a statutory duty to provide certain services to help the disabled and their carers. Disabled children are classified as "children in need" and local authorities have to publish information about the services they provide for disabled children and their families. In practice, services tend to be restricted to the most disabled.  Short breaks and holiday play schemes usually come under Social care.

It is worth checking with your local authority just what help is available, for example, laundry services; nappies; physiotherapy; speech therapy; counselling; support groups for the disabled child and the family; and various forms of respite care. Not all these will be available in every local authority area, and they may ask parents to part-fund some activities.

The services offered should be listed on their website. Some services for children with disabilities cross over with the NHS, and so the local health authority’s website is worth checking as well. To access most of these services, an assessment will be needed, which you can request, along with assessment of the rest of the family’s needs as carers.

More information: www.cafamily.org.uk/pdfs/disabled_childrens_services.pdf (England and Wales); www.cafamily.org.uk/pdfs/AssessScot.pdf (Scotland); http://www.adviceguide.org.uk/index/your_family/family_index_ew/local_authority_services_for_children_in_need.htm  (Northern Ireland).

Childcare vouchers. Employers can join a scheme where they provide vouchers to staff, towards the cost of childcare. The vouchers allow tax exemptions for the employer. They may affect the employee’s Tax Credits. More information: www.hmrc.gov.uk/childcare/interaction-tc-cv.htm, tel: 08457 143 143 (HMRC employer helpline).

Utilities tariffs. It is worth checking with your utilities companies whether they have any special tariffs. For example, the Welsh Water Assist tariff reduces bills for households with qualifying benefits or tax credits, where either there are three or more children, or there is one person with a medical condition needing significant additional use of water.

Benefits advice

It is often worthwhile to get advice from a local authority welfare rights officer or an independent advice agency like a Citizens Advice Bureau (CAB) for checking all your entitlements and filling in any claim forms in an optimal way. There is an interactive benefits and tax credits check available on the Web at www.entitledto.co.uk, tel: 0808 802 2000. There is also a free Benefits Enquiry Line for advice and information for people with disabilities and their carers about benefits and assistance with claim form completion (tel: 0800 88 22 00). The CAB web site www.adviceguide.org.uk contains separate sections with advice on claiming for each area of the UK.

Debt advice beware of organisations charging fees/interest, at least until you have spoken about it to a CAB, www.newcastle.gov.uk/core.nsf/a/wr_nav1_debt?opendocument, National Debt Line 0808 808 4000, or gone through the video and information at www.moneysavingexpert.com/loans/debt-help-plan.

Tax advice for people who cannot afford a professional tax advisor. www.taxaid.org.uk, tel: 0345 120 3779.

Our DLA (Disability Living Allowance) Guide goes step-by-step through the form to claim for a child under 16. The helpline also has access to other expert Guides for DLA appeals and for children over 16, which we can consult for you, and a range of more detailed reference books on welfare rights and benefits.

Don’t give up. If you are not awarded a benefit to which you think you are entitled, always consider an Appeal.

Definitions used in Benefits literature

Personal Allowances - Amounts paid, within a Benefit, for you, your partner and children

Premiums - Amounts paid, within a Benefit, for a special need, e.g. caring or a disability. Some people are paid the highest Premium they are entitled to, and other people are entitled to Premiums that can be added together.

Housing Costs - An amount paid with income-based Job Seeker’s Allowance or Income Support, direct to a mortgage lender, towards the mortgage interest.

Disregard - Income or savings that are not counted when a Benefit is calculated.

Contributory - A Benefit or level of benefit that depends on what National Insurance contributions have been paid.

Non-contributory - A Benefit or level of benefit that does not depend on National Insurance.

Means tested - Income and savings are taken into account for the Benefit or level of benefit.

Local authority - "The Council". The LEA, Housing, Transport and Social Services are among the departments of the local authority.