Disability Living Allowance for Children
2026-04-27
TAGS
Response quality
Questions & Answers
Q1
Partial Answer
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Context
The Liberal Democrat MP questioned the adequacy of child Disability Living Allowance (DLA) approval rates within target timeframes over the past two years.
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?
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.
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Assessment & feedback
The specific adequacy assessment requested was not provided.
Response accuracy
Q2
Partial Answer
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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.
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?
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.
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Assessment & feedback
The specific request for urgent action was not addressed with concrete commitments or timelines.
Response accuracy