The devolution of disability benefit payments for children has been celebrated as a less “traumatic” experience for families, three years on from its introduction.
In a significant shift, all disabled children and young people in Scotland receiving disability benefits will now be paid directly by Social Security Scotland. Moreover, recipients of the Child Disability Payment will have access to a review system that is founded on principles of “dignity, fairness and respect”.
Currently, around 76,000 disabled children and young people in Scotland are beneficiaries of the Child Disability Payment, which was rolled out in 2021 to take over from the UK-wide Disability Living Allowance for children, previously administered by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP).
Since its inception, approximately 31,000 applications have been made for the benefit, with an additional 47,000 claims being transitioned from the DWP.
The Child Disability Payment is designed to assist with the additional costs associated with caring for a disabled or terminally ill child or young person. Since the launch, about 31,000 individuals have applied, and they are subject to review periods that vary between two to ten years a stark contrast to the annual 48-page form required by the DWP.
The length of the review period for each award is determined individually, based on the client’s condition and the likelihood of changes in their needs.
A mother, whose child suffers from cerebral palsy, has praised the new system for diminishing the stress and uncertainty that used to accompany the process.
Rebecca, 40, from Edinburgh, shared her relief with the new system: “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, highlighted the compassionate approach of the Scottish system: “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.”
