Commons Sense

House of Commons · Ministers' Questions

Disability Living Allowance for Children

Monday 27 April 2026 · 2 questions

Summarised by AI from the official record, so it can contain mistakes.

Read the full transcript on Parliament.uk

At a glance

Answered 0 Partly answered 2 Not answered 0

Key points

  • The Department appointed 111 additional case managers to address increased demand for child DLA applications.
  • The current target is to clear 90% of new child DLA claims within 45 days.
  • A new online evidence portal is being introduced to reduce delays in evidence gathering.

Topics (select to filter)

Questions & Answers

Q1 Sarah Olney Lib Dem Richmond Park
Benefits & Welfare
Context

The Liberal Democrat MP questioned the adequacy of child Disability Living Allowance (DLA) approval rates within target timeframes over the past two years.

Question

What assessment has been made of the adequacy of the proportion of disability living allowance for children applications that have been approved by his Department within its target timeframes in the last two years?

Answer from Stephen Timms

In the six months up to March last year, we appointed an additional 111 case managers to help deal with increased demand for child DLA. The current target is to clear 90% of new child DLA claims in 45 days. Performance has steadily improved, and I am pleased to say that in March we did hit that target.

Partly answered

Not addressed: The specific adequacy assessment requested was not provided.

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Q2 Sarah Olney Lib Dem Richmond Park
Benefits & Welfare
Context

Over the past two years, only 3.5% of applications for disability living allowance for children have been approved by the Department for Work and Pensions within its target timeframe. A constituent experienced lengthy delays including an administrative error that prevented her from receiving her first payment award.

Question

Parents of children with disabilities work tirelessly to ensure their children can have the same opportunities as everyone else, yet only 3.5% of applications for disability living allowance for children are approved within target timeframe. One constituent faced delays and an administrative error preventing initial payment. Will the Minister commit to urgent action to improve DLA processing times for children?

Answer from Stephen Timms

We did hit the 90% target last month, reflecting steady improvement over recent months. We are introducing a new online evidence portal to improve evidence gathering from schools and education professions, which will reduce delays. This portal is planned for full rollout in autumn.

Partly answered

Not addressed: The specific request for urgent action was not addressed with concrete commitments or timelines.

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