Disability Living Allowance for children
Disability Living Allowance (DLA) is a tax free benefit for people with disabilities who need help with mobility or care costs.
Overview
Since 20 June 2016 Personal Independence Payment (PIP) has replaced Disability Living Allowance (DLA) for people aged 16 to State Pension age.
DLA for children may help with the extra costs of looking after a child who:
- is under 16
- has difficulty walking or needs more looking after than a child of the same age who doesn’t have a disability
They will need to meet all the eligibility rules detailed under 'Eligibility' below.
You can claim DLA for a child as long as you look after them as if you’re their parent. ‘Parent’ includes:
- step-parents
- guardians
- grandparents
- foster parents
- older brothers or sisters
The DLA rate is between £26.90 and £172.75 a week and depends on the level of help the child needs.
The child may need an assessment to work out what help they need.
Disability Living Allowance rates for children
DLA for children is a tax-free benefit made up of two components (parts):
- care
- mobility
The child might qualify for one or both parts.
Care
| Care part | Weekly rate |
|---|---|
| Lowest | £26.90 |
| Middle | £68.10 |
| Highest | £101.75 |
Mobility
| Mobility part | Weekly rate |
|---|---|
| Lower | £26.90 |
| Higher | £71.00 |
Cost of Living Support Payment 2023/2024
A Cost of Living Support package has been put in place that includes one-off payments to those on income related benefits, disabled claimants and pensioners. These payments are intended to provide support with the current rise in the cost of living.
Find out more about Cost of Living support
How Disability Living Allowance for children is paid
DLA is usually paid every four weeks. All benefits, pensions and allowances are paid into an account.
You might qualify for Carer’s Allowance if you spend at least 35 hours a week caring for a child who gets the middle or highest care rate of DLA.
Eligibility
The information is a guide only. Disability and Carers Service can answer any questions you have about claiming and getting Disability Living Allowance.
Usually, to qualify for DLA the child must:
- be under 16
- need extra looking after or have difficulty walking
- be habitually resident in Northern Ireland
- be in Northern Ireland when they make their claim
- have been in Northern Ireland, Great Britain, the Isle of Man, Jersey or Guernsey for at least two out of the last three years (the period is 13 weeks for babies under six months old and does not apply at all for people paid under special rules)
- not be under immigration control
There are some exceptions to these conditions if the child is living or coming from an EEA country or Switzerland.
If you and your child are from the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein, you will usually also need settled or pre-settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme to claim DLA for your child. The deadline to apply to the scheme was 30 June 2021 for most people, but you might still be able to apply.
You can claim DLA for children if you’re in or out of work.
Children under three
A child under six months must have lived in Northern Ireland for at least 13 weeks.
A child aged between six months and three years must have lived in Northern Ireland for at least 26 of the last 156 weeks.
The rules on residence don’t normally apply if a medical professional has said the child might have 12 months or less to live.
The child’s disability or health condition
The child’s disability or health condition must mean one or both of the following apply:
- they need more looking after than a child of the same age who doesn’t have a disability
- they have difficulty getting about
They must have had this for at least three months and expect it to last for at least six months. If a medical professional has said they might have 12 months or less to live they don’t need to have had this difficulty for three months.
Care needs
The rate the child gets depends on the level of looking after they need, for example:
- lowest rate - help for some of the day or night
- middle rate - frequent help or constant supervision during the day, supervision at night or someone to help while they’re on dialysis
- highest rate - help or supervision throughout both day and night, or a medical professional has said they might have 12 months or less to live.
Mobility needs
The rate the child gets depends on the level of help they need getting about, for example:
- lowest rate - they can walk but need help and or supervision when outdoors
- highest rate - they can’t walk, can only walk a short distance without severe discomfort, could become very ill if they try to walk or they’re blind or severely sight impaired
If your child receives the highest rate, they may be eligible for help from Motability. For more information visit the Motability website.
SMS messages
When claiming DLA you may receive text messages (SMS) from the Department for Communities (DfC). They will always be clearly marked as DfC and will never ask you to give, or click a link to give, personal information or financial details by message or email.
If you’re concerned or unsure about any text messages (SMS) you receive about DLA you should contact Disability and Carers Service directly. If you suspect you have received a fraudulent message as a scam, contact Disability and Carers Service immediately.
More information is available at scamwiseni
Change of circumstances
Contact the Disability and Carers Service as soon as the child’s circumstances change. This can affect how much they get, for example if their disability gets worse or they go abroad for medical treatment.
Their DLA won’t usually be affected if they go:
- into a residential or nursing care home for less than 28 days
- into a hospital
- abroad for less than 13 weeks
- abroad for less than 26 weeks to get medical treatment for a condition which began before they left
If you use sign language, you might be able to use the video relay service to contact the Disability and Carers Service using British Sign Language (BSL) or Irish Sign Language (ISL). To access the service, go to:
How to claim
You can download a claim form, or contact the Disability and Carers Service or your local Jobs and Benefits office.
Contact the Disability and Carers Service
You can call and ask to be sent a claim pack. The date of your phone call will be treated as your date of claim from which DLA can be paid, as long as you send your form back within six weeks of that date.
If you delay making a claim, you may lose out on benefit as DLA cannot be back dated.
Download a claim form
Download a claim form using the link below. When you have filled in the form you can either post it to the Disability and Carers Service or hand it in at your nearest Jobs and Benefits office.
Contact your local Jobs and Benefits office
If you ask for a form from your local Jobs and Benefits office, the date of you asking will be treated as your date of claim from which DLA can be paid - as long as the form you receive is returned within six weeks of that date. If you delay making a claim, you may lose out on benefit.
Other formats
Call the Disability and Carers Service and ask for other formats such as Braille, large print or audio CD.
The child might have 12 months or less to live
There are special rules if a medical professional has said the child is not expected to live more than 12 months, so they can get DLA more quickly. You must:
- fill in a DLA child claim form - DLA1
- include an SR1 medical condition report with your claim form or send it soon after - these are free and a medical professional such as a GP, hospital or hospice doctor or registered nurse, for example, Macmillan nurses or specialist nurses can fill in the SR1
Once you have made your claim
It normally takes 30 working days to process a Disability Living Allowance claim for a child, from the day the Disability and Carers Service receives your claim form. If the claim is made under the special rules for end of life, it will be dealt with much more quickly.
You do not need to contact anyone, you will be informed of a decision when one is made.
Appeal a decision
If you disagree with a decision, you must usually ask for ‘mandatory reconsideration’ before you appeal.
If you think a decision about your child’s benefit claim is wrong you can ask the Disability and Carers Service to explain it. You can also ask to have the decision reconsidered and if you're still unhappy, you can in most cases, appeal against the decision.
Benefit over-payments
There are circumstances when you may be paid too much benefit and you will be asked to repay this. To make a repayment contact Debt Management.
If you require further support, contact Debt Management as soon as possible to discuss an affordable repayment plan and other potential options.
When your child turns 16
Your child will need to apply for Personal Independence Payment (PIP) when they turn 16.
Your child will get a letter inviting them to apply for PIP. The letter will be sent:
- shortly after their 16th birthday
- when they leave hospital, if they were in hospital on their 16th birthday
- about 20 weeks before their DLA award ends, if they were awarded DLA under the rules for people who might have 12 months are less to live.
Your child’s DLA payments will stop unless they apply for PIP by the date given in the letter.
If they apply by the date given in the letter, they’ll continue to receive DLA until their claim is assessed.