Child Disability Payments hit £130m as minister urges more people to apply

Scotland’s Child Disability Payment has paid out more than £130 million, it has been revealed, as a government minister urged people who think they may be eligible to apply.

The benefit was launched in three council areas in July 2021 before being rolled out fully across the country in November of that year, with the families of an estimated 54,735 children in receipt as of the end of 2022.

With the creation of the Scottish Government’s own benefits system, the Child Disability Payment will replace the Disability Living Allowance for Children paid out by the UK Government, with the transfer of all cases set to be complete in the coming months.

Since launch, figures released on Tuesday showed a total of £132.5 million had been paid out.

During the same period, 940 appeals – known as “re-determinations” by Social Security Scotland – have been received, the vast majority of which result in a full or partial award from the agency.

The figures show 730 re-determinations were allowed or partially allowed – 85% of all those lodged – while 95 were disallowed and 30 were deemed to be “invalid”.

Social security minister Ben Macpherson described the amount paid out by the agency as “welcome news”.

“Child Disability Payment helps parents to support their children and assists young people to live their lives to the fullest,” he said.

“Therefore, it is welcome news that, so far, more than £130 million in Child Disability Payments has been distributed to thousands of families with disabled children, to help cover extra costs.

“New applications are increasing, and Social Security Scotland is working to process these as quickly as they can, while seeking to ensure that right decisions are made first time.

“We are only being asked to look again at decisions in a very small proportion of cases.

“The process of transferring people’s awards from the DWP’s Disability Living Allowance for children to our Child Disability Payment is also continuing at pace, and on course to be almost entirely complete in the spring.”

He added: “The Scottish social security system has been designed in partnership with those who have experience of applying for benefits previously. This has helped us to build a system that is easier to access, and where people are treated with dignity, fairness and respect.

“I urge anyone who thinks they, their child or someone they know may be eligible for Scottish Government benefits to check and apply.”

Jamee Killin, an Edinburgh-based mum whose child has ADHD, praised staff as “extremely helpful”, urging “anyone who thinks they might be eligible to apply”.