Financial help for children with a disability or long-term illness

Your child must meet the following conditions;-

• be living in Scotland and
• be under 16 when you apply (but can continue to receive it until they are 18)
• need help with their personal care because of their physical or mental disability or illness and/or
• need help when moving around because of their physical or mental disability or illness and
• have had their disability or illness for 3 months before you apply and be expected to have it for at least 6 months after.

Your child does not need to have a diagnosis, but you may have to provide evidence of how their disability or health condition affects them.

The amount you will get for your child depends on how much help they need.

There are 2 amounts called components. The care component is paid for the day to day help your child needs with things like dressing, washing and eating. Your child can get this from 3 months old. The mobility component is to help with the extra help your child needs to physically get around and to stay safe when they are moving around. A child can get the mobility component from age 3.

The care component has 3 rates and the mobility component has 2 rates.

Care component (per week)

• High rate: £110.40
• Middle rate: £73.90
• Low rate: £29.20 

Mobility component (per week)

• High rate: £77.05 
• Low rate: £29.20

Children with life limiting conditions

If your child has a progressive, terminal illness you will automatically get the highest rates of both the care and mobility components. You may get the care component from when your child is born and the mobility component from when they are 3 years old.

Child Disability Payment is paid into your bank account every 4 weeks in arrears. If you applied under the special rules you will get it weekly in advance.

The amount of Child Disability Payment you receive is not affected by your income, savings or assets. It will not reduce any other benefits you get but you may get an increase in some benefits or be able to claim extra help.

More information can be found in our Disability sickness and care benefits page.

You can apply for Child Disability Payment online or by calling Social Security Scotland.

First you will need to answer some general questions about your child.

You will then complete a form asking more specific questions about your child’s disability or illness. You will be asked how it affects their everyday life and what support they need. This can be difficult and take a bit of time. It is important to be thorough as a decision maker will use this information to decide if and how much Child Disability Payment you will get.

You have 6 weeks to answer all the question from the time you completed the first part.

How to apply if your child has a life limiting medical condition

If your child has a terminal illness should send a BASRiS form with the application. The BASRiS form gives details of your child’s medical condition. You can get this form from your child’s doctor or medical professional. They can also help you fil it in.

Apply by phone and on a paper form

If you apply by phone you will be asked the general questions when you call. You will then be sent a paper form to complete and return.

You can ask a friend, family member, welfare rights officer, disability service or a medical professional to help you complete the form.

Social Security Scotland can also arrange for some one from a local delivery service to help you complete the form. This can be done in person, by phone, video or in your own home.

Contact your local council for an appointment with a welfare rights officer.

Call Social Security Scotland to apply or arrange an appointment for someone to help you complete the application form.

•  Social Security Scotland: 0800 182 2222

Apply online

If you apply online you will need to set up an account before you complete a questionnaire about your child’s condition. You do not have to answer all the questions at once. Your answers will be saved and you can go back to them later.

You will have to complete the online application yourself if someone is not able to be with you when you fill it in. If you think you would like help to complete the application it may be better phoning for a paper form instead.

• Apply online

You will receive regular updates on how your application is progressing. You may also be asked for further information about your child’s needs if what you have already said does not give a full picture. Social Security Scotland may ask for your permission to contact someone who knows your child like a teacher or a doctor. This information is used to support your application and not to to prove what you have said.

Awards of Child Disability Payment do not have an end date but you may be contacted from time to time for a reassessment. This will not be as in depth as the initial application. If your child has a condition that is not expected to improve there will not be a reassessment for at least 5 years.

If, when a reassessment is carried out, you are told that Child Disability Payment will stop or reduce you can ask for a redetermination and then appeal. You will continue to receive Child Disability Payment as usual during this process.

If there is any change in your child’s disability or illness you need to report this to Social Security Scotland by phone or online.

If you are unhappy with the award decision you can ask for a ‘redetermination’ saying why you think the decision is wrong and giving any further evidence, you have to support this. You have 6 weeks from when you receive the decision to ask Social Security Scotland for a redetermination. Social Security Scotland will get back to you within 8 weeks of you asking.

If you are unhappy with the result of the redetermination you can appeal. Appeals can be made to Social Security Scotland.

• By post – fill out the form that was sent with your decision letter and return to the address given.
• By phone – call Social Security Scotland. Take a note of the date, time and who you speak to.