DISABILITY Living Allowance (DLA) and personal independence payments (PIP) are available for people who have extra care or mobility needs because of a disability or health condition.

Here's how the benefits work, how much you might be able to receive, who is eligible for it, how to claim, and how it will work alongside Universal Credit.

What is Disability Living Allowance?

You can now only apply for DLA if you're under 16.

The DLA is made up of two parts, the care component and the mobility component, and it’s possible to claim for one or both of these depending on your circumstances.

It is no longer available for new claimants who are aged 16 or over – they will have to make a claim for Personal Independence Payment (PIP) instead.

For those already receiving DLA, if you haven’t already, you will be transferred on to PIP unless you are living in England, Scotland or Wales and were born before April 8, 1949, or you live in Northern Ireland and were born before June 20, 1951.

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) will contact you to tell you when you are being moved to PIP.

What is the personal independence payment (PIP)?

PIP is available to those who require extra help because of a health condition or disability and it’s available to those aged 16 or over and below state pension age.

It is made up of two parts, one for your needs for daily living and one for your needs for mobility – the amount of money available depends on how your health condition affects you.

PIP is replacing the disability living allowance (DLA) for those aged 16 to 64.

Those aged under 16, or those born on or before 8 April 1948 who already receive DLA will continue to get DLA but for everyone else they will need to claim for PIP instead.

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) will contact those receiving DLA to tell them when they need to start claiming for PIP instead.

Are you eligible for DLA?

In order to claim for DLA the child receiving it needs to be under 16 and for at least three months before the claim is made they need to have had care or mobility needs.

The child will also need to have lived in Great Britain for two of the last three years, not be subject to immigration control, and be in Great Britain or a European Economic Area country when the application is made.

Care needs are related to things like needing help or supervision when getting dressed, going to the toilet, or cooking a meal.

Mobility needs relate to not being able to walk or walking with difficulty, or if the person needs help from someone else when they are outside the house because of a physical or mental disability.

With both care and mobility needs it doesn’t matter if the person doesn’t actually receive help at the moment, they just need to show it's needed.

There is an exception to the rule for people who have terminal illnesses.

They should be able to receive the highest amount of the care component immediately.

In order to get this, they need the DS 100 form, which is available from a doctor.

How much Disability Living Allowance can you apply for?

The care component of DLA is made up of three rates and how much you receive depends on your care needs.

The lowest rate is £22.65, the medium rate is £57.30, and the highest is £85.60.

For the mobility component there are two rates, the lower is £22.65 and the higher is £59.75.

There is also a Christmas bonus of £10 which is paid automatically each year.

The money is paid directly into a bank account every four weeks and if the claimant goes into hospital payments are stopped after four weeks.

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How does Universal Credit work with DLA?

Universal Credit is replacing a number of benefits including Housing Benefit, Jobseeker’s Allowance and Employment Support Allowance, but DLA is not one of them.

The only change you need to be aware of is when you need to start claiming for PIP instead, which will happen once the DWP contacts you.

How to claim for DLA

You can claim for DLA for a child aged under 16 by filling out the claim form, printing it, and sending it to the relevant office (the address is on the form).

For extra help, or for a printed form to be sent to you, you will need to call the Disability Living Allowance helpline on 0800 121 4600, Monday to Friday, between 8am and 7.30pm.

How to make a PIP claim

To make a new PIP claim you’ll need to contact the Department for Work and Pensions on 0800 917 2222, Monday to Friday, 8am to 6pm.

For more information about PIP, read our guide to personal independence payments.

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