UK Disability Resource of Disabled Needs

Many families with disabled children 'living in poverty'

Press Association
Wednesday August 15, 2007
SocietyGuardian.co.uk

Almost all families with disabled children are suffering from financial difficulties, according to a report published today.
Many struggle with the extra costs of raising disabled children, which is calculated to be three times higher than other children, and they face barriers to working, said the Every Disabled Child Matters (EDCM) campaign, an alliance of Mencap, Contact a Family, Council for Disabled Children and the Special Educational Consortium.

More than nine in 10 (93%) families reported some form of financial difficulty, with only 6% saying they were comfortably off.

The report said more than one in five families with disabled children cannot afford to feed their family properly. Such families are 50% more likely to be in debt than others and 50% less likely to be able to afford new clothes or school outings when compared with other families.

Steve Broach, the EDCM campaign's manager, said: "It is scandalous that families with disabled children are forced to choose between going into debt or going without.

"We want government to prove that disabled children are at the heart of efforts to end child poverty by committing to a major take-up campaign on disability living allowance, the critical source of extra income for families."

The EDCM said only about 50% of families with disabled children claimed the allowance, and more than 100,000 were potentially missing out on extra funds.

The campaign is also calling for an increase in the childcare element of the working tax credit for disabled families to £300 a week and demanding that the disability living allowance meets the "real cost" of caring for a disabled child.

The allowance is divided into two parts: the care component, a maximum tax-free weekly rate of £64.50, to pay for personal care, plus, for those who cannot walk or need help getting around, a mobility component, a maximum tax-free weekly rate of £45.

The EDCM welcomed an extra £340m for services in England pledged by Ed Balls, the minister for children, schools and families, in his Aiming High for Disabled Children review, carried out in May when he was at the Treasury.

But Mr Broach added: "Now we need to see evidence that Mr Balls' commitment to disabled children will extend to making sure that the child poverty strategy delivers for our families."

Family Fund, a charity that provides grants to families with severely disabled children, said that 44% of families helped by the fund lived in poverty and 83% earned below-average incomes.

Marion Lowe, the fund's chief executive, said: "The recent announcement of £340m for disabled children's services was excellent and should help raise family incomes over time.

"But unless disabled children's families and other hard-to-reach families get more direct financial support now, the government may well miss its 2010 target for cutting child poverty by half. As a priority measure, the government should increase by £34m the Family Fund's grant, which has not been raised since 2003, and increase the disability living allowance and the childcare element of the working tax credits."

A spokeswoman for the Department for Work and Pensions said: "Families of disabled children often face additional costs and the disability living allowance, carer's allowance and the disabled child element in child tax credits are there specifically to help parents meet those costs.

"The department is working alongside important groups like Citizens Advice Bureau to ensure that people can easily access information on how to receive the benefits they are entitled to."

http://tinyurl.com/3defnz

It is a disgrace that families with disabled children (any family with a disabled member in fact) should have to live below the poverty line.

It's hard enough coping day to day without having to go without essentials such as food.

I sometimes wonder if we do actually live in a civilised, caring country.

its hard enough bring up children as it is without the added burden of disability and low income on top.Having a disabled child myself im unable to work due to tha amount of appointments etc required for Daniel and Sarah we live on one wage and my cares allowance which doesnt add to much we've the added pressure right now that our eldest is awaiting the army we cant get any financil help for him as he's 17 and lives at home he's struggling to find work (no Experience).Dont get me wrong we know there are alot worse off out there but when will we get the justifiable benefit for carers
Rachel

i have just found out that my council tax can be reduced because my daughter needs to use her wheelchair in the house and i have had a room adapted for her. If you are caring for a child over 18 you are eligable for this, Also their is an organization called Swans, syndromes without a name for anyone who has a disability but has not been given a diagnosis.sometimes this can make getting benefits difficult,they can advise you on this.i hope this info helps someone.

Thanks Dylan, I think the link to SWAN is on this forum somewhere as I've been a member for some time now as all mine didn't have a diagnoses for many years. I can't seem to find it at the moment and if I don't I'll pop it on in the links section.

We had the loft converted for our daughter and get the disability reduction. It's not just for adults so anyone with a child can also apply if they fullfill the criteria.

Here's the link with the criteria listed:

http://disabledkids.myfineforum.org/about26.html

Don't forget to ask for the reduction to be backdated too. We did and got a nice little surprise in the form of a cheque.

WRT Council Tax - this applies to disabled adults too - we have a council tax reduction for Dom due to his wheelchair and the adaptations needed.

on my form it said that if you cared for someone with disabiliies who ws 18+ you were eligable for a discount,so i have not asked for it to be backdated because my daughter only turned 18 in jan this year. i have not got my ammended form back yet, i will have to see what discount they give.

I believe that if you don't ask for it you won't get it so it's always a good idea to check it out and request backdating.
They often like to keep these things to themselves and won't volunteer the info willingly.

As they say "every little helps".

hi it took a while for us to find out we could get a reduction in council tax as you say its not freely given advice. Just wondering if anyone can tell me how to get hold of a benefits advisor.?
Rachel x

Go onto your local council's website and search for "welfare rights". That should do it.