Dear Sir
As the Coalition Government introduces changes to the benefits system, Contact a Family – the only UK charity that supports families with a disabled child whatever their condition or disability – is worried that local families could be missing out on the financial support they are entitled to.
Additional costs in transport, heating, special food and clothing means it costs around three-times more to raise a disabled child. This is on top of the difficulty of combining caring and working.
Research we recently carried out shows that a quarter of families with disabled children are going without food and a third without heating because they cannot afford it. Many are extremely worried about how planned government benefit and welfare changes will impact on their families’ income.
Despite changes to many benefits, Disability Living Allowance (DLA) for children aged 0-15 remains the same. DLA is designed to help cover some of the additional costs of disability and is often the ‘passport’ to other sources of financial help.
DLA can make a real difference to your family’s income but many don’t claim this benefit because they don’t know they are entitled.
The Department for Work and Pensions has recently introduced a new form for families to claim this benefit for their disabled child and Contact a Family has produced a free information guide detailing how to fill the new form in. Call our freephone helpline on 0808 808 3555 or email helpline@cafamily.org.uk to order a copy today.
Using Contact a Family’s new guide can increase the likelihood of your child being awarded the right level of DLA and means you won’t miss out on vital extra income – more important than ever in the current economic climate.
For more information about Contact a Family visit
www.cafamily.org.uk
Srabani Sen
