Sign up to EDCM

Hear more about EDCM campaigns and get updates on our latest news through our regular e-bulletin.

Sign up now

Tell us your story!

Help EDCM campaign by telling us your experiences of being a parent of a disabled child.

Find out more information

First budget introduces further welfare reform

The Chancellor, George Osborne, gave his first budget for the new Government on 8th July.

The budget set out a number of proposals including welfare reform and announced the introduction of tax-free childcare, passed by the previous Parliament. The proposals on welfare reform are far ranging and include a number of changes that will affect disabled children, young people and their families:

  • From April 2016 many working-age benefits will be frozen for a four year period. Included in this freeze are income support, child benefit, housing benefit and the basic tax credit allowances.
  • The freeze does not apply to the extra disability additions/premiums that are paid as part of tax credits and means-tested benefits, or to disability and carers benefits such as Disability Living Allowance (DLA), Personal Independent Payment (PIP) and Carer's Allowance.
  • Families will no longer receive child benefit for a third or subsequent child born after 6 April 2017.
  • Families claiming Universal Credit will also not receive a child element for a third or subsequent child born after that date. If that child has disabilities, the tax credit/Universal Credit award will still include a disabled child element for them but not the basic child element.

On childcare the chancellor announced that the Tax-Free Childcare Scheme, which will cover up to 20% of childcare costs for working parents up to a limit of £10,000 (providing £2,000 subsidy), will be introduced from early 2017 rather than autumn 2015. From September 2017, the free childcare entitlement will be doubled from 15 hours to 30 hours for working parents of 3 and 4 year olds.

Debbie Smith, EDCM Campaign Manager said: “We welcome the Government’s focus on helping families with childcare at a time when many are facing ever steeper costs. However, we remain concerned that the Government proposals do not yet do enough to ensure families with disabled children can access childcare in the same way as other families and benefit from the changes being introduced. We are also extremely worried that the proposed changes to benefits will have an adverse impact on many low income families with disabled children at a time when many are struggling to cope with cuts to local services that provide their family support.”