Disabled children's benefit to be halved

A hundred thousand disabled children will lose out when a crucial welfare benefit is halved under controversial reforms. Parents can now receive a maximum of £54 (Dh321) a week through tax credits to help with the extra cost of looking after a child with disabilities. But under the Welfare Reform Bill, passed by the House of Commons last week, that benefit will form part of universal credit and will be cut down, plunging thousands of families below the poverty line, according to the Children's Society. The government says the money saved will allow it to offer larger sums to children with severe disabilities. However, the Children's Society said some families would lose £1,400 (Dh8,323.68) a year. It is claimed this could cost families with a child born with a disability about £22,000 by the time the child reaches 16. The government says it will provide transitional payments to ensure people do not lose out, but the guarantee does not extend to new claimants and will not be protected from inflation. Cash protection will also be lost through as yet undefined changes in a family's circumstances. Antony Best, 23, whose wife died of swine flu in January, leaving him responsible for three children under four, two of whom have disabilities, said the change would mean he would struggle to run the car he needs to take them to hospital. Best said: "I receive £197 a month through credits and disability allowance for help with my eldest child, who has Down's syndrome, and I am applying for help with my youngest son, who has cerebral palsy. Without it I wouldn't be able to put anything in a fund for their futures and I don't know how I would run the car. It would have a huge impact." From / Gulf news