Benefits
There are a number of benefits and tax credits that you may be entitled to. Some benefits can be paid because your child is disabled while others may be paid to you for other reasons. For example, you may be getting disability living allowance (DLA) for your child and carer’s allowance as their carer. However, depending on your income and certain other factors you may also be able to claim benefits such as income support, child tax credit and housing benefit.
Personal Independence Payment (PIP) is the disability benefit for disabled people aged 16 or above. Like DLA, PIP has two types of payment – a mobility component and a daily living component. However, the decision about whether someone qualifies for PIP is based on different rules than DLA and depends on the number of points you score following a medical assessment.
There are a number of organisations that can provide you with information about all the benefits that you may be entitled to:
- The national charity for families with disabled children, Contact, has a freephone national helpline on 0808808 3555 and can provide you with a free benefits check service and have a wealth
of information and factsheets on their website: www.contact.org.uk - Your Local Citizens Advice or welfare rights unit can carry out a full benefits check for you. A range of useful information about benefits is available from their country-specific website pages:
- England: www.citizensadvice.org.uk
- Northern Ireland: www.citizensadvice.org.uk/about-us/northern-ireland
- Scotland: www.citizensadvice.org.uk/scotland/
- Wales: www.citizensadvice.org.uk/wales/
- The Gov.UK website signposts to independent online benefits calculators to help you to work out what benefits you may be entitled to claim: www.gov.uk/benefits-calculators
Personal Budgets
A personal budget is a sum of money that is made available to someone who needs support. The money comes from their local authority’s social care or education department or the NHS and is allocated to the individual or family to spend on help, care and/or support to meet their assessed eligible needs and to achieve agreed outcomes.
Children and young people with an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) and/or with a continuing care package are able to access a personal budget. When the money comes from the NHS it is referred to as a Personal Health Budget.