By the time my second child was born, I felt pretty confident about how to navigate parenting a disabled kid. Disability runs through our family, so I knew exactly what to do to get the support we need – or so I thought. After all, I’ve been through the processes a million times before, what could go wrong?
It was a complete shock to me then when the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) immediately rejected the child disability living allowance (DLA) claim I made on my kid’s behalf.
That turned out to be just the beginning of our journey – it took a total of five years, three applications and three appeals processes (for which I spent countless hours gathering medical reports, appointment letters, prescriptions and personal statements, made dozens of phone calls, and finally, earlier this week, attended a tribunal in court), in order to finally successfully convince the DWP to award the financial aid my child has always needed.
- DWP under investigation over treatment of ill and disabled people after deaths of benefit claimants
- Almost no recorded cases of disability benefit fraud despite DWP crackdown: ‘PIP fraud is a non-issue’
“We’ve reversed our decision,” the DWP rep told me coolly from behind her laptop in court. I could’ve cried – finally. It was a long overdue win for us, which means we can now afford things my kid has never had access to previously. But it’s still five years too late – and for many disabled people, not getting the financial aid they need can push them into poverty, or worse.
Disabled people in the UK face extra living costs of up to a whopping £970 per month, according to research by disability charity Scope. That’s not for luxury goods – it’s what’s needed simply for us to achieve the same standard of living as non-disabled people.
Disability benefits, whether DLA for children or personal independence payment (PIP) for adults, are supposed to bridge that gap (though the maximum monthly PIP payout is just shy of £800, so still not quite covering it). But disability benefits awards are so tightly ring-fenced that claimants can go years, if not a lifetime, unable to access this essential money.