Benefit premiums are provided to help thousands of the lowest income families with disabled children meet the extra costs incurred when raising a disabled child, including higher utility bills, and specific dietary requirements.
Families with disabled children are more likely to be on low incomes or be out of work than other families, due to the pressure of caring responsibilities. In a recent Every Disabled Child Matters poll, 98 per cent of respondents were worried or very worried about this cut. One parent said: "This would be yet another direct cut and a reduction to the income of families who need it most. Why not look at continuing the premium as it currently stands into adulthood?."
The changes will affect new claimants once the universal credit is introduced in 2013, rather than families who are already in receipt of these benefits, but it is unclear how long this protection will last.
