New Scottish child disability benefit ‘less traumatic’ for families

The devolution of disability benefit payments for children was hailed as less “traumatic” for families, three years after it was introduced.

All disabled children and young people in Scotland who receive disability benefits will now be paid directly from Social Security Scotland, while those who receive Child Disability Payment will also benefit from a devolved review system based on “dignity, fairness and respect”.

Around 76,000 disabled children and young people in Scotland now receive Child Disability Payment, which helps cover the extra costs of caring for a disabled or terminally ill child and was introduced in 2021 to replace the UK-wide Disability Living Allowance for children, paid by the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP).

Approximately 31,000 people applied since it was launched, while another 47,000 had claims transferred from the DWP.

The benefit helps cover the extra costs of caring for a disabled or terminally ill child or young person, and around 31,000 people applied since it was launched, with review periods ranging from two to ten years – compared to an annual 48-page document required by the DWP.

The review period for awards is decided on a case-by-case basis depending on the client’s condition and whether their needs are expected to change.

The mother of a child with cerebral palsy hailed the change as reducing anxiety and uncertainty.

Rebecca, 40, from Edinburgh, said: “The biggest difference for me was when his yearly review came around. The DWP review is a 48-page document. Just writing down again and again, that nothing had changed. It used to be a couple of months of feeling anxious.

“You don’t know if you’re going to get any money, if you’ll get less or if it will be the same rate you had before the review. It’s difficult to plan when there’s so much uncertainty.

“This time when the renewal letter came through instead of saying, ‘You have to go through the whole traumatic process again,’ it was, ‘Has anything changed?’

“The short answer was, ‘No, my son still has cerebral palsy. There hasn’t been a miracle overnight.’ And that was accepted.

“There are a lot of hard things about being in a family affected by disability. This was someone taking away one of those. That has been fantastic and I’m incredibly grateful for the values that underpin Social Security Scotland.”

Shirley-Anne Somerville, Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice, said: “One of the defining characteristics of the benefits system in Scotland is that people are treated with dignity, fairness and respect.

“Everyone in Scotland who previously received Disability Living Allowance for children from the UK Government now gets Child Disability Payment from Social Security Scotland.

“This has been a significant and important undertaking.

“The change means 47,000 more children in Scotland and their families can now look forward to less anxiety, less uncertainty and more financial security when their disability benefits come up for review.

“Social Security Scotland takes a human rights-based approach to reviews. The time between reviews is also set by case managers and can vary from two years to ten years.

“This is especially important for people with life-long disabilities and helps provide the financial security that is needed to pay for ongoing care and support.”Show less