Disability Living Allowance (DLA)
Disability Living Allowance (DLA) is a disability benefit for children under 16 who have a disability or a long-term health condition.
We know that many deaf people and families of deaf children don't consider deafness to be a disability. However, even if you don't consider your deaf child to be disabled, they may still be eligible for disability benefits such as Disability Living Allowance (DLA) in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
You can also use this information if you live in Northern Ireland (NI Direct). Some of the names of institutions are different but the law and the process is the same. If you live in Scotland, your child may be eligible for Child Disability Payment (CDP).
Understanding DLA
Disability Living Allowance (DLA) for children: An overview in BSL from DWP
Disability Living Allowance (DLA) is a disability benefit for children under 16 who have a disability or a long-term health condition. DLA helps towards some of the extra costs of raising a child who needs more looking after than another child of the same age without disabilities.
DLA is paid by the government’s Department of Work and Pensions (DWP). It’s not means-tested or taxable. Which means that you can apply regardless of how much you earn, how much money you have in savings or any other benefits you may already receive. Getting DLA can also make you eligible for additional financial support, like help with transport and heating costs. There are no rules about what you can spend the money on.
There are two parts to DLA – the care component and the mobility component.
Care component
You can claim the care component if your child needs more help or supervision compared with a child of the same age without disabilities. For deaf children, this can include help with things like:
- hearing
- speech
- lip-reading
- making themselves understood
- extra help at school.
Extra supervision they may need to keep them safe, for example with young children to stop them putting their hearing technology in their mouth, is also relevant.
The care component is £28.70, £72.65 or £108.55 a week.
Mobility component
You can claim the mobility component if your child is at least five years old and needs more guidance or supervision when walking outdoors than a child of the same age without disabilities.
If your child has physical problems with walking or another disability, in addition to their deafness, they may qualify from age 3. For more information about claiming the higher rate mobility component, visit the Contact website.
The mobility component is £28.70 or £75.75 a week.
How to apply
Applying for DLA for children: Explanation in BSL from DWP
You can make a new claim for DLA by:
- calling the Disability Living Allowance helpline to request a paper form
- printing off the DLA claim form and submitting it to DWP
The method you choose will affect when any DLA payments start.
Requesting a paper form
You can call the DLA helpline at DWP for free on 0800 121 4600 (9am to 5pm, Monday to Friday) to request a paper form and a prepaid return envelope.
If you phone for a paper form, there will be two dates stamped on it. The first is the date you requested the form and the second is the date you have to return the completed form by. If you return the form by the second date, any DLA your child is awarded will start from the first date (the date you requested the form).
If you're a British Sign Language (BSL) user, you can contact the helpline by:
- textphone on 0800 121 4523
- Relay UK on 18001 then 0800 121 4600,
- BSL video relay service on a computer or mobile or tablet.
If English isn’t your first language, you can contact DWP to get help in your chosen language. However, you have to apply in English.
Printing off the DLA claim form
Go to the GOV.UK website to print off the DLA claim form. If you download and print the DLA claim form, DLA will start from the date DWP receives your completed claim form.
Additional help
Filling in the claim form can be a long and potentially upsetting process. Download or print our guide:
If you have questions about how to fill in the form for your deaf child, you can contact our free Helpline.
Alternatively, you can call the free DLA helpline at DWP on 0800 121 4600 (9am to 5pm, Monday to Friday).
Filling in the form
Use our:
The way DWP assess whether you should get DLA, and how much you should get, is based on a series of legal tests. Your claim will be assessed based on the information you provide on the claim form and any additional information you submit in support of your claim. Information you include in the form that isn’t relevant to the legal tests won’t be considered by DWP.
Remember, the person making the decision about your claim isn’t medically trained and may not understand deafness. When you fill in the form, you have to show that your child needs much more attention or supervision than a hearing child of the same age.
Attention
Attention is the practical help you give to your child when they are present. This could include help with communication and language development or removing and fitting hearing technology.
Supervision
Supervision means being present to avoid accidents or harm to your child or others.
If your child can’t do things that a child their age would normally be expected to do, give details on the form. If you know a hearing child of a similar age, it may help to make a comparison. Think about all the things you do for your deaf child that you wouldn’t need to for a hearing child of the same age.
It may be helpful for you to keep a journal for two or three days to remind yourself of the extra help you give your deaf child.
We've listed some examples of what extra attention or supervision can be.
- If your child is very young, making sure they don’t put parts of their hearing devices in their mouth.
- Refitting the hearing devices your child uses.
- Attracting your child’s attention before speaking to them.
- Repeating things because they haven’t heard you.
- Teachers needing to repeat what other children have said in class.
- Additional help with learning to make sure they don’t fall behind their peers.
- Being within touching distance of them when outside because they can’t hear you call them from a distance or hear sounds from behind, such as a car or cyclist approaching.
In the form, you’re asked to write down how often you help your child and how many minutes this takes each time. It’s important to say how often each day you help your child, if you can. If you can’t say how long it takes because the time varies or it’s difficult to measure, leave the minutes box blank and explain this in the box underneath.
Entitlement to DLA care component for young children
One of the legal tests for the care component of DLA is how much supervision a child needs. A child will be entitled to the middle rate of the care component if they require ‘Continual supervision throughout the day in order to avoid substantial danger to himself or others.’ (Himself can mean any gender.) This is set out in the Social Security Contributions and Benefits Act 1992 – Section 72 (SSCBA s.72(b)(ii)).
Continual supervision means frequent or regular, but not non-stop. Your child does not need to be supervised every single minute.
This legal test is relevant to deaf babies and young children who need to be supervised because of the risk of substantial danger from swallowing all or part of a hearing aid or cochlear implant processor, such as a button battery. This also includes potential risk to other children, who may pick up or swallow parts of hearing aids or cochlear implant processors if they’re removed or fall out, for example when children are playing.
It’s recommended that parents include the information sheet about button battery safety from the audiology department at Great Ormond St Hospital (GOSH) with their claim if relevant to their child.
Supporting evidence to include
Including supporting information in your application is very important as it helps you show DWP how your child’s deafness affects them and the extra support they need. If your child has additional needs, long-term conditions or disabilities, in addition to their deafness, include their care and mobility needs in the same application form.
Supporting evidence should:
show how your child's hearing loss or deafness affects them throughout the day
back-up what you’ve said in the application form
show that your child's needs satisfy the tests for an award of DLA.
DWP cannot return original documents, so any supporting evidence you send DWP should be a photocopy. You should submit any supporting evidence with your claim form. If you’re waiting for any pieces of supporting evidence, write what it is in question 89 and send it to DWP once you’ve received it at:
Freepost DWP DLA Child.
Make sure all supporting evidence is up to date (within one year of the claim if possible). Write your child’s full name, date of birth and National Insurance number (if they have one) or DWP reference number on each piece of evidence so it can be linked to your claim.
Examples of supporting evidence
- Letters from the health and education professionals who know and work with your child.
Medical reports or letters of identification, such as hearing test results, audiograms, discharge letters from hospitals, or cochlear implant mapping reports.
Details of any other conditions your child may have, their severity and the effect they have.
A daily diary of the additional care and attention your child requires because of their deafness and/or their additional needs.
Test results or certificates, care or treatment plans, and therapies or adaptations.
Social care or social work assessments.
Educational support plans or reports or letters from your child’s school.
The supporting information form filled out by someone who knows or cares for your child. They can explain the effect your child’s deafness has on them throughout the day, the care they give, and details of any recent dangerous events that happened because of their deafness.
Supporting evidence from professionals
Professionals you could ask for supporting evidence could include your child's:
audiologist
Teacher of the Deaf (ToD)
speech and language therapist
ear, nose and throat (ENT) specialist
GP
teacher
social worker.
Use these template letters to request evidence from a professional.
Your child may see other professionals because of a disability or health condition in addition to their deafness. Because you only fill in one DLA form for all your child's disabilities or conditions, ask these professionals to provide supporting evidence.
This should explain their care and supervision needs as a result of their additional need and could include the impact their deafness has on their ability to manage this additional need. Or the impact their additional need has on their ability to manage their deafness.
Decision
What happens after a claim for DLA has been made: Explanation in BSL from DWP
It can take DWP about 12 weeks or longer to decide your DLA claim. You will receive a decision letter from DWP. There is no limit to how long DWP can take to make a decision after your form has been received. If your application has been successful, the letter will include the date of your first DLA payment and how long your award is for.
Most awards are for a fixed period of between 3 or 5 years. Some awards are longer. If your child is under 16 when the award ends you will need to claim again. Keep a copy of your decision letter.
If you're not happy with the decision
Mandatory reconsideration
If DWP do not award you DLA, or you feel you have been awarded the wrong amount because they’ve made an error or missed important evidence you submitted with your claim, you can ask DWP to look at your application again. This is called a mandatory reconsideration.
When the decision maker looks at the decision again, they may confirm the original decision, reduce or increase the award, or change the length of the award.
If you are thinking about asking for a mandatory reconsideration, contact our Helpline. You can contact our Helpline by phone, text (SMS), SignVideo (video call with a BSL interpreter), contact form or live chat. If English isn't your first language, we can call you back with an interpreter in your preferred language for free.
Asking for a mandatory reconsideration
You can ask for a mandatory reconsideration by phone, by letter or by filling in and returning a mandatory reconsideration form. It’s better if you do this within a month of the date on the decision letter. However, mandatory reconsiderations can be asked for up to 13 months after the date on the decision letter. You will have to give a reason explaining why the request is late.
DWP will usually accept a late request for mandatory reconsideration if you give a good reason. A good reason could be illness within the family or waiting for an advice appointment about the decision.
If DWP do not accept your late request, you do not lose your appeal rights. The law only requires that you ask DWP to look at the decision again first. If DWP refuse your late request, you can go straight to appealing the decision at an independent tribunal.
Appeal
If you’re still unhappy with your DLA decision after a mandatory reconsideration, you can ask for an appeal. Appeals are decided by the First-tier Tribunal, which is independent of DWP.
You should ask for an appeal within one month. If you miss the deadline, you can still submit a late appeal. Late appeals are usually accepted by the tribunal if you give a good reason why the appeal is late, such as illness or waiting for an appointment with an advice service about the decision.
Read more about how to appeal a DLA decision.
DLA renewals
Most DLA awards are given for a fixed amount of time, usually three or five years. You should keep your decision letter safe and check the date when the award is due to end. Around 4 months before your child’s DLA is due to end, DWP should send you a renewal pack with a new claim form. If you haven’t received a renewal pack, you should contact DWP to request one.
Even though you’ve received DLA before, a renewal is a new claim. Fill in the renewal form with as much information as the first time you claimed and send in up-to-date supporting evidence.
It’s important to return the renewal form in plenty of time before your current award ends. If you don’t, you may lose out on benefit payments in between.
If you disagree with your child’s renewal decision, you can request a mandatory reconsideration.
A renewal is different from a review. For a DLA renewal you need to fill in the new claim form as if you’re applying for DLA for the first time. Treat it as an entirely new application.
When your child turns 16
When your child turns 16, they’ll need to apply for Personal Independence Payment (PIP). PIP is assessed very differently to DLA. Your child won't qualify automatically even if you were getting DLA for them.
DWP should contact you by letter before your child’s 16th birthday. In this letter, DWP will ask if you want to apply to be the appointee for your child’s PIP claim.
Your child will get a letter from DWP inviting them to claim PIP after their 16th birthday. As long as they begin the claim by the date given in the letter, your DLA will continue until they get their PIP decision.
What happens to a DLA award when a child turns 16: Explanation in BSL