The Scottish Government has announced that £132.5 million has been paid to tens of thousands of families with disabled children since a new devolved disability benefit launched in November 2021. The latest official figures from Social Security Scotland show that families of 54,735 children and young people were receiving Child Disability Payment by the end of December last year.
The benefit replaced Disability Living Allowance for Children, which is delivered by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), and helps cover the extra costs of caring for a child with a disability, long-term health condition or is terminally ill, up to the age of 18. People already receiving Disability Living Allowance for Children do not need to make a new application as Social Security Scotland will contact them ahead of their award being automatically transferred to the new IT system.
This is happening in a phased approach and transfer of all cases is set to be completed in the coming months.
