Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether he plans to reinstate or replace the Family Fund Mobility Support programme.

Disability Living Allowance for Children (DLAc) is a tax-free, non-contributory and non-means-tested extra-costs benefit. It provides a contribution to the extra costs associated with being disabled to those under the age of 16 who, due to a disability or health condition, have mobility issues and/or care needs which are substantially in excess of a child the same age without the disability or health condition.

DLAc claimants must have needs substantially greater than their non-disabled counterparts. The higher rate mobility component is payable from age three. The lower rate mobility component is payable from age five. Only children over the age of three can claim the mobility component of DLA, as all younger children have substantial mobility needs.

There are no current proposals to change the existing age restrictions for the mobility component of DLAc. Children under three, however, can still access other forms of support, including the care component of DLAc, which can be paid from the age of three months.

The Family Fund Mobility Support Programme, funded by the Motability Foundation, operated from 2018 to 2026 and supported more than 1,800 families with disabled children under three, including through a funding commitment announced in 2022 of £5 million per year for three years, helping provide access to leased vehicles before families became eligible for the main Motability Scheme, the programme closed after the funding came to an end and the Motability Foundation has not committed to continuing this support. We are continuing discussions with the Family Fund on how best to support children with these needs in the future.