(Updated 17 October 2022)

If you’re disabled, you may be eligible for government benefits that can help with your cost of living. There are a variety of disability benefits available in the UK, but you will have to meet eligibility requirements in order to benefit from them. Here’s what you need to know:

• You must be disabled
• You must be over 18 years old
• You must be a UK citizen or have indefinite leave to remain in the UK (permanent residence)

We can help you to fill in benefit claim forms

Our support team is here and can support you to apply for disability benefits. We have specialist benefits advisors who can assist with a range of queries and help you to fill in benefits’ forms.

Open Monday to Friday from 9am to 5pm.

Phone: 01582 470 900

Email: info@drcbeds.org.uk

List of the main disability benefits available

Here are some of the main disability benefits available in the UK:

Disabled Students Allowances

Disabled Students Allowances (DSAs) are a form of financial support available to students who have a long-term mental or physical impairment. If you’re disabled and studying in the UK, you may be eligible for DSAs. The amount you receive depends on your individual circumstances, but it can be up to £3,465 per year. You can apply online through the Student Finance England website.

Motability scheme

If you are disabled and need help with mobility, you may be eligible for the Motability scheme. This is a scheme that provides cars, scooters or powered wheelchairs to disabled people in the UK.

To qualify, you must be aged at least 16 years old. If you are aged 18 years or over, then you will qualify for the car or scooter options of this scheme; if your disability has resulted from an accident at work (or a war injury), then any age can apply for either option of this scheme; however if your disability has not resulted from an accident at work (or a war injury) then only those who are aged 16 years or older can apply for either vehicle option of this scheme.

Blue Badge scheme

The Blue Badge scheme is a scheme that allows people with a disability to park closer to their destination. The blue badge is displayed on the vehicle and helps parking enforcement officers to identify which vehicles are eligible for the scheme. 

The Disability Resource Centre can help you when applying for a blue badge, please call 01582 470900 or contact us by email for an appointment.

The badge can be used in any vehicle driven by or carrying the disabled person, but not motorcycles or scooters. You can apply for an enhanced Blue Badge if you cannot walk 200 metres without very considerable difficulty:

• A wheelchair user or someone who has a severe walking impairment or who uses crutches all the time may apply
• Someone with a visual impairment who finds it difficult to walk 50 metres without support (the distance between two parked cars)
• A deaf driver (using hearing aid)

Attendance Allowance

Attendance Allowance is a non-means tested benefit paid to people who are over state pension age and receiving other benefits like PIP or Adult Disability Payment. It’s designed to help people with disabilities get out and about, by covering some of the costs that they may face when travelling to certain places such as friends’ houses, health appointments, or shopping trips.

The amount you receive depends on your age, whether you’re in residential care, whether you have a carer who helps you with personal care activities (such as washing), how much help someone needs doing daily living tasks, like cooking meals or cleaning your home – and how far away these things are from where you live.

Personal Independence Payment

Personal Independence Payment (PIP) is a benefit for people who need help with the extra costs caused by long-term ill health or a disability. You can get PIP if you are aged 16 to state pension age and have a health condition or disability that affects the way you work, or your ability to look after yourself or get around.

Employment Support Allowance

Employment Support Allowance (ESA) is a benefit paid to people who are disabled and unable to work. It is designed to help with the extra costs of being disabled, and is paid through the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP). You can apply online via the DWP website if you live in England, Scotland or Wales; in Northern Ireland contact the Universal Credit team. The amount you get depends on your circumstances.

Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit

If you have an industrial injury and you meet these conditions, below, you may be eligible for Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit:

• You were employed for at least 26 weeks before your injury, or
• You’re unemployed because of your condition

The benefit is payable if you’re over 18 years old, not in full-time education and not working (including self-employment).

Carer’s Allowance

Carer’s Allowance is a benefit for people who look after someone who is disabled. If you think you may be eligible, you’ll need to have been providing care for at least 35 hours a week and be aged 16 or over. You must also be caring for someone who gets one of the following benefits:

• Attendance Allowance
• Constant Attendance Allowance (Contributory)
• Disability Living Allowance (the middle or highest rate for personal care)
• The enhanced rate of Personal Independence Payment (PIP) from 8 April 2019

Disabled Students’ Allowance

Financing university life is already difficult for anyone – but it is far more complicated to navigate it with a disability. Thankfully, support is becoming more accessible, thanks to schemes such as the Disabled Students’ Allowance. To help people understand more about this financing scheme, Compare the Market created a comprehensive guide.

Written for disabled students and their guardians, this in-depth guide to Disabled Students’ Allowance from Comparethemarket covers:

• An overview of what the DSA is, what it covers, and how it is different from tuition fee assistance and maintenance loans
• Eligibility for the DSA, including the broad range of conditions in the Equality Act of 2010
• Step-by-step instructions on applying for the DSA, along with a guide to getting the requirements accomplished
• A list of other support a disabled student can get while studying

Some interesting information covered in the guide includes:

• The DSA is not exclusive to England – it is also available in Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland.
• Among the conditions covered by the DSA are mental health conditions, physical and sensory disabilities, autism, and learning disabilities like ADHD.
• Students qualified for the DSA will not have to pay back any money received once their program of study is over, except if they leave their course early.

Conclusion

We hope you have found this article helpful in learning more about the different kinds of disability benefits available to you. As we outlined earlier, there are many different types of benefits out there, and it can be difficult to find which ones are right for your situation. 

We are here for you

Our support team is here and can support you to apply for disability benefits. We have specialist benefits advisors who can assist with a range of queries and help you to fill in benefits’ forms.

Open Monday to Friday from 9am to 5pm.

Phone: 01582 470 900

Email: info@drcbeds.org.uk

WhatsApp and text: 07826366477

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