Your Rights

Benefits for children

Summary: Information about Disability Living Allowance (DLA) and other benefits for blind or partially sighted children.

• Introduction
• Disability Living Allowance (DLA)
• Carer's Allowance
• Other benefits
• Further information

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Introduction

This information explains the rules on benefits for:

• children under 16 years of age, and
• young people up to age 19 and in full-time non-advanced education where applicable

and offers further advice on where to get more help.

The principal benefit for children with disabilities is DLA but there are other social security benefits that can be claimed for with a child with sight loss.

Disability Living Allowance (DLA)

Disability Living Allowance (DLA) consists of a care component and a mobility component. There are three weekly rates of payment for the care component:

• Low rate care component: £18.65
• Middle rate care component: £47.10
• High rate care component: £70.35

And two weekly rates of payment for mobility:

• Low rate mobility component: £18.65
• High rate mobility component: £49.10

You can get a payment for care or for mobility or for both. Many blind and partially sighted people qualify for the lowest rate of both components.

How does my child qualify for DLA?

Care component

This can be claimed from birth but the award cannot start until the baby is three months old (if the baby is terminally ill this three-month wait does not apply).

Qualifying criteria and weekly rates

Low rate

The lowest rate can be paid if your child needs extra help or attention for a “significant portion” of the day. A significant portion means about an hour which may be a single period or may be spilt into shorter periods.

Middle rate

To qualify you must show that your child needs extra attention or supervision throughout the day. In other words, there are many occasions at different times of day when the child needs attention or supervision that a sighted or able-bodied child of the same age would not need.

High rate

If your child needs extra help or supervision during both day and night, they may be able to get the highest rate of DLA care component.

Care needs

The following are some examples of the additional needs that children with sight loss may have that can lead to entitlement to the care component. Obviously all young children need care and children need different sorts of care and supervision at different ages. It can sometimes be difficult to separate the care or support your child needs because of their disability from the care that any other child of that age might need.

It is important when claiming DLA for a child under 16 that you show that your child needs substantially more help or supervision than a sighted child of the same age would need.

Stimulation

A child with sight loss will need more active stimulation to enable learning and development. Very young children learn about their environment through exploration, spurred on by what they can see. Children with sight loss may not be able to see objects around them, so the desire to explore is considerably reduced. Non-standard intervention, for example introducing objects to your child with sight loss, will be required. This can be treated as an attention need for DLA.

Communication

Developing communication skills is crucial for small children. The Department for Works and Pensions (DWP) Disability Handbook states: "If a child is to overcome his disability by being trained to develop effective means of communications, considerable attention must be given by others to this task".

A child with sight loss will need much more physical contact and verbal re-assurance to encourage development of language and personal relationships.

Extra help with dressing, bathing, feeding etc

Children with sight loss are likely to need extra help with these personal care tasks.

A sighted child of the same age would need some help with personal care but it is likely that a blind or partially sighted child will need extra help. For example, you may have to spoon-feed your child until a later age or your child may be less able to co-operate with dressing, bathing or feeding.

Development

Not all children develop at the same pace. However, it is possible to identify approximate ages by which children will have developed certain skills. Any additional help that a child with sight loss requires to attain these various skills should be highlighted.

Schooling

Children with sight loss may encounter additional difficulties once they start school. Some examples are: reading from boards or textbooks, describing maps or diagrams (which may be impossible to represent in tactile form) and finding their way to and from school and within the school (young children will rarely have received long cane training).

Supervision

All very young children require supervision. Children with sight loss will require a greater level of supervision due to the increased risk of danger. The DWP Disability Handbook acknowledges that children with sight loss require substantially more supervision than a non-disabled child of the same age.

Medication

Some children have to be given eye drops or other medication several times a day. This may take longer with children with sight loss as they cannot see what is happening.

Night time care

Most visually impaired people would qualify for lower or middle rate care for day time care needs but if your child also needs help during the night they may be able to claim the higher rate.

For example, your child may need to be repeatedly taken to the toilet or be given medication during the night. The time taken to settle a child back to sleep can also be counted. Night-time means after the adults in the house normally have gone to bed. If sight loss is your child’s only disability then it is unlikely that they would qualify for the highest rate.

DLA mobility component: qualifying criteria and rates

DLA mobility component has two rates. The lower rate can be claimed from the child's fifth birthday. All parents of blind or partially sighted children should consider applying for this.

Lower rate £18.65

The lower DLA mobility component is paid to people who need guidance or supervision when walking out of doors in unfamiliar places. For children, you must show that they need more guidance or supervision than a sighted or able-bodied child of the same age would need.

For example, all young children need help when crossing busy roads but a child with sight loss will need extra help in recognising when it is safe to cross the road; and they will need attention to avoid bumping into obstacles on the pavement.

Higher rate £49.10

Your child will not be able get the higher rate of the mobility component unless they have an additional disability. The higher rate can be paid to children who are unable, or virtually unable, to walk because of a physical disability.

For example children who have problems with their legs or feet, or feel pain or discomfort after walking a short distance. The higher rate can also be paid to children who are deaf-blind. It can sometimes be paid to children who are “severely mentally impaired” and have behavioural problems.

If your child meets the qualifying conditions for the higher rate of the mobility component this can be claimed from the child's third birthday.

Claiming DLA

Telephone the Benefits Enquiry Line (BEL) free on 0800 88 22 00 or the Disability Contact Processing Unit (DCPU) on 08457 123 456 and ask for a DLA claim pack.

If DLA is awarded it will start from the date of this phone call as long as you return the form within six weeks. The form is available in large print if you ask for it.

You can also download or complete the claim forms online via the Government website Directgov.

If you need help completing the pack, call BEL and ask for the forms completion service or home visiting service. DWP can provide transcripts of your answers to the questions on the claim form in large print or braille.

Give plenty of detail about your child’s problems and special needs on the form. Some people are turned down for benefit because they don’t give enough information. Describe all the extra help that your child needs, emphasise the extra attention that is needed, how often the extra help and attention is needed and at what times it is needed throughout the day.

Sometimes additional evidence can be helpful. For example, you may want to keep a diary for a few days, recording every occasion when your child needs extra help. Or you could include a letter from a teacher or classroom assistant describing the extra attention the child needs at school.

A statement of special educational needs can be used to support your claim.

You may also be able to receive an increased amount of Child Tax Credit.

Asking DWP to look at your child's DLA award again

If your child is already getting a lower rate of DLA, or if a claim has recently been turned down, you can ask for the claim to be looked at again. You can ask for a new decision to be looked at again within one month of the decision on your claim.

If your child is getting the lowest rate of the care component you may want to consider asking for the decision to be looked at again if you believe they should get the middle rate care component, ie needs substantially more help at frequent intervals throughout the day.

If you are over the normal one month time limit certain grounds need to apply, eg if your child’s vision or other disabilities have got worse, or if the decision maker did not know all of the relevant information or evidence when they made the decision.

You can either ask for a ‘reconsideration’ or an appeal. For a reconsideration, contact the office that sent you the decision within one month and ask them to look at your claim again. Explain why you think a higher rate of benefit should be paid. Supporting evidence, such as a letter or diary from a teacher, a social worker, may be helpful.

You have the right to appeal to an independent tribunal if you are not happy with the result/ outcome that the decision maker has made. The time limit is just one month from the date of the decision that you are appealing against.

If you are considering either asking the decision maker to look at a decision again, or submitting an appeal, and would like advice, phone RNIB Helpline on 0303 123 9999.

Carer's Allowance

If your child is awarded DLA care component at the middle or higher rate you or your partner may be able to claim Carer’s Allowance.

It is not means-tested and does not depend on National Insurance contributions. It is taxable.

To claim Carer's Allowance you must satisfy the following conditions:

• You must be 16 or over
• You must spend at least 35 hours a week looking after a child who receives the middle or highest rate Disability Living Allowance care component
• If you do any paid work, you must not earn more than £95 per week after deductions for tax, National Insurance and certain expenses such as contributions to a pension or care costs
• You must not be in full time education. You are treated as being in full-time education if you attend a course involving at least 21 hours per week of supervised study

You can request a claim form by contacting the Carer’s Allowance Unit on 01253 856123 to check if this is the universal number to give out.

Please note that if you already get Carer's Allowance for looking after an adult, or a child, you cannot get it for looking after another person.

More about Carer's Allowance.

Other benefits

If neither you nor your partner are working full-time you may be entitled to income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance, Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit. If you are responsible for a child you may be able to get Child Tax Credit.

Tax Credits

Child Tax Credit is a means-tested benefit for families with dependent children under 16 (or under 19 and in full-time non-advanced education). This can be claimed whether the claimant or partner is in or out of work. It is paid directly to the main carer in the family.

Child Tax Credit consists of a family element, a child element for each child in the family, a baby element if there is a child under one year old, a disabled child element (for each child who gets DLA or is registered blind) and a severely disabled child element (for each child who gets DLA highest rate care component).

Working Tax Credit can be claimed on the same form as Child Tax Credit. It is available to certain disabled people, and people with dependent children, who work 16 or more hours per week.

HM Revenue and Customs administers Working Tax Credit and Child Tax Credit. Phone 0845 300 3900 to request a claim pack.

More about Tax Credits.

Health Benefits

Children under 16 (or under 19 and in full-time non-advanced education) qualify for free prescriptions, dental treatment, eye tests and help with the cost of glasses. Please contact the Health Benefits Division on 0845 850 1166 to request a claim form.

Social Fund

If you or your partner are claiming Income Support, income-based Jobseekers’ Allowance, income-related Employment Support Allowance, Child Tax Credit (with more than just the family element), an award of Working Tax Credit (which includes the disability or severe disability element) or Pension Credit, you may be entitled to a Maternity Grant of £500. You can claim this no earlier than 11 weeks before the week the baby is expected and no later than three months after the birth.

If you are claiming Income Support, income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance, income-related Employment Support Allowance or Pension Credit, it may be possible to get a community care grant or budgeting loan to help pay for essential items for your child or family.

The rules for the Social Fund grants and loans can be complex, and the decision-making has elements of discretion. Call our Helpline on 0303 123 9999 for advice before making an application.

NB You can also apply to the Family Fund for lump sums for items arising from the care of a severely disabled child:

Family Fund
Unit 4, Alpha Court
Monks Cross Drive
Huntington
York
YO32 9WN

Telephone: 0845 130 4542

Support in school

You should ask your Local Education Authority to draw up a Statement of your child’s special educational needs which will ensure that they get the support they need. A Statement is a document which gives details about the special educational needs of your child and sets out what special arrangements are necessary to meet those needs.

After the LEA has carried out a Statutory Assessment, they will send you a draft statement that you can challenge if you disagree with it.

More about assessing your child's educational needs.

Community Care Services

Assistance and support can be obtained from your local social services department. Your child does not have to be registered blind or partially sighted to get this help although some other types of help may be conditional on this.

Television licence

If your child is registered blind, you are entitled to a 50 per cent discount on the cost of a television licence.

The licence will need to be put into the child's name but there is no age limit. You will need to show your child's registration certificate when you renew your licence. For further information, contact the TV Licensing team on 0844 800 5875.

More about TV licence concessions for people with sight problems.

Further information

If you experience difficulties claiming any of these benefits, disagree with a decision or want further information, please contact us for more help.

Whatever your enquiry, our specialist Helpline team provide a direct line to the support, advice and products available for people living with sight loss.

RNIB Helpline

Telephone: 0303 123 9999
Email: helpline@rnib.org.uk

Opening hours: Monday to Friday 8.45am to 6pm and
Saturday 9am to 4pm.
Standard rate call charges apply.

The information gives general guidance only and is not an authoritative statement of the law.

Please note that RNIB can only give advice about benefits for people with sight loss and their carers or dependants.

If you use a language other than English please let us know which language. We will try to arrange a telephone interpreting service.

RNIB/ LRS/ SP updated June 2009

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Content author: helpline@rnib.org.uk

Last updated: 24/06/2009 9:37