IN-vision

The majority of this information has been taken with kind permission from an Information Pack produced by Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust. It is to be used as a guide only and not guaranteed to be up-to-date and currently accurate. Always check with your local Citizen’s Advice Bureau or other qualified benefits adviser before taking action. Many organisations listed in the Useful Links section of this site offer a more in-depth support service.

This section applies to all parents whether claiming benefits or not. Children do not have to be registered with Vision Impairment to receive benefits although registration may help.

Disability Living Allowance – DLA

If your child is visually impaired you should claim DLA. It is not based on your income and you do not pay tax on it, so you will always be better off claiming. Eligibility for DLA is a legal question, not a matter for medical opinion although medical evidence plays an important part in the application process. Claims should be as detailed as possible, well supported with evidence. Getting professional advice and help in completing the DLA form can be helpful.

The website is a good place to start looking for information.

• from 3 months – apply for Disability Living Allowance – care component
• from 2 years – apply for Blue badge
• from 4 years 9 months – apply for Disability Living Allowance – mobility component
• from 16 years – claim Incapacity Benefit and Income Support

There are two components to DLA – care and mobility.

Care component

Children must have met the qualifying conditions for at least 3 months for the care component to be claimed therefore the earliest it can be claimed is at 3 months.

The care component is paid for extra help that a visually impaired child needs compared with a sighted child of the same age e.g. several visits to hospital or dealing with a child’s contact lens care. There are 3 rates depending on the amount of extra time taken looking after the child.

Mobility component

This component is only for children over 5 years but the claim can be made when a child is aged 4 years 9 months so that it can be paid from the age of five.

This component has 2 rates. Children with sight loss alone generally will not get the higher rate. They will need to have other disabilities e.g. if they are severely mentally impaired, have behavioural problems, are deaf-blind.

Fares to Hospital

If you are on Income Support or Tax Credits, you are entitled to travel costs to and from the hospital for NHS treatment. If you have limited savings or on a low income, but not in receipt of the above benefits you may still be able to get help although it may only cover part of the cost. You will need to complete form HC1 that can be obtained from your Local Social Security office, GP practice, Dentist or Opticians.

is also available from your local Social Security Office or Health Benefits Division on and gives you more information about help with health costs.

Form HC5 is a refund application form for other health costs that need to be reimbursed and any costs incurred from attending NHS treatment e.g. travel costs. Remember you will need to be entitled to help with health costs when you paid the charges.

Carer’s Allowance

Once your child is in receipt of DLA at the middle or highest rate, you may be entitled to Carer’s Allowance. This is a taxable benefit to help people who look after someone who is disabled. You cannot get  Carer’s Allowance if you are in full-time education with 21 hours or more a week of supervised study or earn more than £100 a week after certain deductions have been made – for example Income Tax.