Millions of people with disabilities are being reminded that they could be entitled to over £400 a month in extra benefits. Disability living allowance (DLA) is a benefit given to those with certain disabilities, such as those with mobility issues or who need certain care.
DLAhas been gradually replaced by other payments since 2013 including personal independence payments (PIP) and attendance allowance, but more than one million people are still estimated to be claiming DLA. You can find out more about how to claim PIP here and attendance allowance here.
Most people making a new claim need to apply for these newer benefits, but you can still apply for DLA if you care for a child under 16 and live in Wales or England. The payment has two rates and how much you get depends on the level of care that you need because of your disability. To get all the latest money-saving news straight to your inbox twice a week sign up here.
Read more: Parents claiming universal credit will receive hundreds of pounds more within days
Who qualifies for DLA and how much is it?
DLA is made up of two components (parts), the ‘care component’ and the ‘mobility component’. To get DLA you must be eligible for at least one of the components. How much DLA you get depends on how your disability or health condition affects you. DLA is paid every four weeks, usually on a Wednesday.
According to the UK government, you could qualify for the care component of DLA if you:
- need help with things like washing, dressing, eating, using the toilet or communicating your needs
- need supervision to avoid putting yourself or others in danger
- need someone with you when you’re on dialysis
- cannot prepare a cooked main meal
Here are the weekly rates for DLA care component, depending on the level of help you need:
Lowest: £26.90 - Help for some of the day or with preparing cooked meals
Middle: £68.10 - Frequent help or constant supervision during the day, supervision at night or someone to help you while on dialysis
Highest: £101.75 - Help or supervision throughout both day and night, or a medical professional has said you might have 12 months or less to live
You might get the mobility component of DLA if, when using your normal aid, you:
- cannot walk
- can only walk a short distance without severe discomfort
- could become very ill if you try to walk
You might also get it if you:
- have no feet or legs
- are assessed as 100% blind and at least 80% deaf and you need someone with you when outdoors
- are severely mentally impaired with severe behavioural problems and get the highest rate of care for DLA
- need supervision most of the time when walking outdoors
- are certified as severely sight impaired and you were aged between 3 and 64 on 11 April 2011
Here are the weekly rates for DLA mobility component, depending on the level of help you need:
Lower: £26.90 - Guidance or supervision outdoors
Higher: £71 - You have any other, more severe, walking difficulty
Which medical conditions qualify for DLA?
According to the DWP's official guidance, there are 57 main medical conditions that could qualify you for attendance allowance. They are as follows:
- Arthritis
- Spondylosis
- Back pain – other/precise diagnosis not specified
- Disease of the muscles, bones or joints
- Trauma to limbs
- Visual disorders and diseases
- Hearing disorders
- Heart disease
- Respiratory disorders and diseases
- Asthma
- Cystic fibrosis
- Cerebrovascular disease
- Peripheral vascular disease
- Epilepsy
- Neurological diseases
- Multiple sclerosis
- Parkinson's disease
- Motor neurone disease
- Chronic pain syndromes
- Diabetes mellitus
- Metabolic disease
- Traumatic paraplegia/tetraplegia
- Major trauma other than traumatic paraplegia/tetraplegia
- Learning difficulties
- Psychosis
- Psychoneurosis
- Personality Disorder
- Dementia
- Behavioural disorder
- Alcohol and drug abuse
- Hyperkinetic syndrome
- Renal disorders
- Inflammatory bowel disease
- Bowel and stomach disease
- Blood disorders
- Haemophilia
- Multi system disorders
- Multiple allergy syndrome
- Skin disease
- Malignant disease
- Severely mentally impaired
- Double amputee
- Deaf/blind
- Haemodialysis
- Frailty
- Total parenteral nutrition
- AIDS
- Infectious diseases: viral disease - Covid-19
- Infectious diseases: viral disease - precise diagnosis not specified
- Infectious diseases: bacterial disease – tuberculosis
- Infectious diseases: bacterial disease – precise diagnosis not specified
- Infectious diseases: protozoal disease – malaria
- Infectious diseases: protozoal disease – other/precise diagnosis not specified
- Infectious diseases - other / precise diagnosis not specified
- Cognitive disorder - other / precise diagnosis not specified
- Terminally Ill
- Unknown
How do I apply for DLA?
To claim DLA for a child under 16 you need to be their parent or look after them as if you’re their parent. This includes step-parents, guardians, grandparents, foster-parents or older brothers or sisters. If your child currently lives in England or Wales you can apply by either printing off and filling in the DLA claim form or phoning the Disability Living Allowance helpline on 0800 121 4600 and asking for a printed form. Find out everything you need to know about applying for DLA here.
