Change of circumstances while you're getting Child Disability Payment

When to report a change of circumstances

You should tell Social Security Scotland within 1 month if there's a change of circumstances while you're getting Child Disability Payment - for example, if a child needs more help or their condition improves. This might affect the amount of Child Disability Payment you get.

You should tell Social Security Scotland if:

• your personal or contact details change

• a child’s condition gets better or worse

• the level of help and care they need changes

• the support they need with their mobility changes

• they go into or leave residential care or residential education

• they move away from Scotland

• they enter or leave legal detention.

How to report a change of circumstances

You can tell Social Security Scotland about a change of circumstances:

• online - you can use the online form on the Social Security Scotland website.

• by phone - free on 0800 182 2222, Monday to Friday, 8am to 6pm

• by filling in a form - you can download a change of circumstances form on mygov.scot to print out and fill in.

You should tell Social Security Scotland about a change within 1 month, or as soon as can reasonably be expected after the change has happened. For example, if a change to a child's condition is gradual or fluctuates, then it might take longer than a month for you to reasonably be expected to notice the change.

If you don’t tell Social Security Scotland about a change in circumstances, you might be overpaid. If this happens, you might be asked to pay the money back.

Find out how Social Security Scotland decides if you have to repay an overpayment.

You might also be committing a criminal offence.

Find out more about reporting a change of circumstances.

Who else to tell

If Child Disability Payment stops, goes up or goes down because of a change of circumstances, this might affect other benefits you get. For example, if you stop getting Child Disability Payment, this might affect benefits like Carer’s Allowance or Universal Credit and the benefit cap might start to apply.

You should tell your other benefit provider about any changes to your Child Disability Payment.

If a child’s condition changes

If a child's condition has changed, for example it has got better or worse, Social Security Scotland might carry out a review, to see if the child still meets the conditions for Child Disability Payment and is getting the correct components and rate.

You might be asked to provide some supporting information about the change to your child's condition. You can provide this with the change of circumstances form or send it separately.

If you don't agree with the review decision, you can ask for this to be looked at again. You usually need to ask within 42 days of getting the review decision.

If you move home

You should tell Social Security Scotland if you move home.

If a child is in a care home or residential school

Child Disability Payment can be affected if a child has overnight stays in a care home or residential school.

If a child is in a residential school or care home (including for short breaks) and this is paid for from public funds:

• the care component will stop being paid after 28 days. The days that your child goes into and leaves residential care aren’t counted

• the mobility component isn’t affected.

You'll still get the care component if the child’s stay in a residential school or care home is funded by you, someone else or a charity.

Getting paid for the days a child is at home

If Child Disability Payment care component stops because a child is in a residential setting, you’ll still be entitled to daily rates of the care component for the nights they spend at home.

For example, if your child has been away at residential school for more than 28 days, payments of Child Disability Payment care component will stop. If they come home from school on Friday and go back on Monday, the care component should be paid at a daily rate for Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday (4 days).

Short breaks

If a child goes into publicly funded residential care for a short break, your Child Disability Payment care component might be affected.

Short stays in residential care that are separated by less than 28 days will be added together. Once these short breaks add up to a total of 28 days, your care component will stop.

If a child spends at least 29 days at home before another short break then the link between the breaks is broken and they won’t be added together. This means that if the child goes back into residential care for another short break, they’ll have another period of 28 days before the care component is stopped again.

The rules are complex and can affect your entitlement to other benefits. Get advice from a Citizens Advice Bureau.

If a child goes into legal custody

If a child is detained in legal custody, payment of the care component of Child Disability Payment will stop after 28 days. The days that a child goes into and leaves legal detention are not counted. The mobility component can still be paid while they’re in custody.

If a child goes into hospital or a hospice

Child Disability Payment will still be paid if a child goes into hospital or a hospice.

If a child dies

If you've used the Tell Us Once service to let government departments know that a child has died, you don't have to tell Social Security Scotland. Tell Us Once will let them know.