Child Disability Payment pilot areas announced

Families of children with a disability or long term health condition living in Dundee City, Perth and Kinross and the Western Isles will be able to apply for Child Disability Payment from summer 2021. This new benefit will be available across Scotland from autumn 2021.

Child Disability Payment will replace Disability Living Allowance for Children, which is currently delivered through the Department for Work and Pensions.

This new support is there for families applying for disability assistance for the first time. Families currently getting Disability Living Allowance for Children from the Department for Work and Pensions will start to be transferred to the new Scottish system from 2021. 

This is the second form of disability assistance to be delivered under the new Scottish social security system following the introduction of Child Winter Heating Assistance in November 2020.

Child Disability Payment is the first disability benefit to be introduced that will require people to submit an application. People will be able to apply for this payment by post, phone, online and face to face. This is the first time in Scotland that people will be able to apply for a disability benefit online.

To coincide with the introduction of Child Disability Payment, we will also launch our local delivery service. This means that from autumn 2021, when Child Disability payment is available for new applications across the country, people will be able to get advice and support on 11 Social Security Scotland administered benefits face-to-face at a location in their local community.

Social Security Secretary Shirley-Anne Somerville said:

“Next year will be an important one for social security in Scotland as we start to deliver the more complex disability benefits and we see the introduction of face-to-face services.

“We’ve worked with people who will use this service to make sure it will meet their needs. This is what has led to make improvements like the introduction of an online application option and the availability of advice and support in local communities. This influence isn’t only evident in these big decisions, we’ve worked with people right down to details like how we word questions on our applications forms.

“Through building this system with the people who will use it, we hope to have a service that is as straightforward as possible for families to use. Parents and carers of a child who has a disability or long term health condition already experience a number of challenges and accessing the support that they are entitled to shouldn’t be another one.

“This initial pilot is a further chance to get people’s feedback and we look forward to hearing what our first disability benefit applicants have to say. We will continually invite input and adapt accordingly - this is key to making sure that we deliver the best possible service and that we have a system that treats everyone with dignity, fairness and respect.”

Background

• Child Disability Payment will provide money to help with the extra care and mobility costs children and young people with a disability may have, up to the age of 18.
• People who currently get UK Government disability benefits will be transferred to the new Scottish system in stages after the new benefits are introduced. This work is expected to be completed to the previously announced timeline of 2025.
• Young people and children in Scotland who are currently getting Disability Living Allowance for children from the DWP will no longer need to apply for PIP when they turn 16. They will stay on Disability Living Allowance to age 18. 
• Child Winter Heating Assistance was the first disability assistance to be introduced by the Scottish Government. This is an annual £200 payment for children and young people who receive the highest rate of the care component of Disability Living Allowance will help families meet day and night-time winter fuel costs.
• From autumn 2021, Social Security Scotland will administer 11 benefits.
• Carer’s Allowance Supplement
• Best Start Grant Pregnancy and Baby Payment
• Best Start Grant Early Learning Payment
• Best Start Grant School Age Payment
• Best Start Foods
• Funeral Support Payment
• Young Carer Grant
• Job Start Payment
• Scottish Child Payment (for children under 6 years old)
• Child Winter Heating Assistance
• Child Disability Payment.