The Conservative plan seeks to save £2.8bn annually as part of a broader £36bn welfare reduction by ending cash payments for children diagnosed with milder behavioural conditions and learning difficulties. Under the measures, weekly awards ranging from £30.30 to £194.60 would be limited strictly to the 30% of recipients with the most severe needs. Dropped claimants would instead be steered toward family hubs and mental health support funded by a £1bn investment. Critics argue the strategy ignores claimant needs, with anti-poverty campaigners warning of an unprecedented overnight spike in child poverty.
Key points
Direct financial support would be reserved solely for the 30% of child claimants assessed…: Direct financial support would be reserved solely for the 30% of child claimants assessed as having the highest needs.
The policy targets new claims and reassessments for behavioural and learning disorders wh…: The policy targets new claims and reassessments for behavioural and learning disorders while completely exempting physical disabilities.
Opposition figures and advocacy groups caution that withdrawing these funds will drive up…: Opposition figures and advocacy groups caution that withdrawing these funds will drive up homelessness and worsen child poverty.
Sources checked by our analysis pipeline: 1
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The Conservatives have pledged to save £2.8bn a year by ending Disability Living Allowance (DLA) payments to families of children with "milder cases" of behavioural disorders, learning difficulties or ADHD.
The policy is one of a series of measures which the party says will save £36bn from the welfare budget.
Shadow work and pensions secretary Helen Whately said the system risked putting children on a "conveyor belt" towards a "lifetime on benefits".
Labour described the Tories' plan as a "charter for homelessness and human misery that would push people into hardship and end up costing the state more".
DLA for children allows parents to claim between £30.30 and £194.60 per week to help cover the additional costs that come with raising a disabled child.
The child must either have difficulty getting about or need more looking after than a child of the same age who does not have a disability.
The Conservatives say child DLA is the "fastest growing benefit in the UK's welfare system", citing government statistics showing the number of cases had risen from 521,476 in…
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