Thank you for contacting me about the Child Disability Addition under Universal Credit (UC).
I firmly believe that parents should receive support from the state to help them raise children with disabilities.
To clarify, there are two rates of extra monthly amount a parent with a disabled or severely disabled child is entitled to under UC. They are £126.11 and £383.86 for, respectively, children who receive Disability Living Allowance (DLA) or Personal Independence Payment (PIP) and children who receive the highest rate of the care component of DLA or the enhanced rate for daily living of PIP or is registered blind. Parents also receive extra amounts for disabled or severely disabled children, no matter how many children they have.
It is important to remember that the Child Disability Addition under UC is only one part of the broader welfare system which is helping everyone with a disability. For example, the Budget announced a £1,000 increase to the UC work allowances for households with children, and people with disabilities. This means that 2.4 million households will keep an extra £630 of income each year.
On top of this, Tax-Free Childcare is also available to over 1.5 million families to help with the cost of childcare. Working parents are able to access up to £4,000 for disabled children. Furthermore, 30 hours of free childcare per week is available for working parents of three and four year olds in England and 15 hours for parents of disadvantaged two year olds. Additionally, UC claimants can have up to 85 per cent of their childcare costs reimbursed with their UC award each month.
I appreciate that you have concerns about this vital issue, but I can assure you that there is support in place for parents with children with disabilities and I will support improvements when necessary.
Thank you again for taking the time to contact me.
Craig Whittaker MP
November 2018