From the moment families arrived you could feel the excitement building. Wrexham football club is now owned by Hollywood actors Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney. TV cameras followed their progress in the “Welcome to Wrexham” documentary series.
There were no cameras on the day of our event, but there was plenty of action!
Over 30 children and young people took part in a range of sporting activities, from powerchair indoor football to outdoor football sessions and table top games. It was a joy to watch them proudly receiving their participation medals at the end.
Alongside the activities, families were able to visit information stands. Andy’s Man Club support men’s mental health through open conversation. Stand NW support families of children and young people with speech, language and communication needs and additional learning needs in North Wales.
Katherine Wyke, Contact Cymru Manager, said:
“Events like this can sometimes feel tense or overwhelming for families. So it was wonderful to see everyone come together and feel able to be themselves. Families told us how relaxed and comfortable the day felt.
“A huge thank you to everyone involved, especially the Wrexham AFC team and coaches, for helping create such an inclusive, positive day where families felt welcome, supported and celebrated. And a special thank you to women’s first team star Rosie Hughes. Her presence was a huge highlight for many of our families!”
Last chance – don’t miss our webinars for Wales families
We still have spaces on our upcoming webinars all about preparing for your child’s future.
A new payment for carers in Scotland looking after more than one disabled person comes into force this Sunday.
This is one of a number of changes the Scottish government is introducing to carers benefits from 15 March. Alongside two new payments also comes improvements to the Carer Support Payment – the main benefit for carers in Scotland.
Below we explain what you need to know about all the changes to look out for this week.
New Carer Additional Person Payment
The Scottish government is introducing a new payment known as the Carer Additional Person Payment. This is for those who get Carer Support Payment and who provide care to more than one disabled person on a qualifying disability benefit. You need to be getting the Carer Support Payment to be able to apply for the new payment.
The amount you get will depend on how many additional disabled people you provide at least 20 hours’ care to each week. You will receive £10 per week (£10.40 from April) for each extra disabled person you care for in addition to your main caring role. There is no set limit on the number of additional disabled people you can claim a payment for.
You won’t get a Carer Additional Person Payment for a disabled person if someone else already does. You can, however, receive a payment for a disabled person despite someone already getting Carer Support Payment as their main carer.
Example of Carer Additional Person Payments
Roddy and Fatima have two severely disabled children, both on Child Disability Payment at the highest rate for personal care. Roddy gets Carer Support Payment because he provides more than 35 hours care to their disabled son Adam. Fatima gets Carer Support Payment as their daughter Anita’s main carer.
As well as looking after Anita, Fatima provides more than 20 hours a week’s care to Adam. She also provides more than 20 hours’ care to her mother, who gets the daily living component of Adult Disability Payment. In addition to being Adam’s main carer, Roddy spends more than 20 hours a week helping to look after Anita.
Fatima is entitled to a Carer Additional Person Payment of £20 for two disabled people (Adam and her mum). Roddy gets a payment of £10 as he cares for one additional disabled person (Anita).
How to apply for a Carer Additional Person Payment
If you already get Carer Support Payment, initially you can complete a “CAPP only” claim form (paper or digital). To access this, call Social Security Scotland on 0800 182 2222 or go online at mygov.scot.
This form is available to existing claimants for six months only. After that, you will need to report a change of circumstances to Social Security Scotland if you want to claim for the first time, or add or remove an additional disabled person.
New Scottish Carer Supplement
The Scottish government is also creating a new payment called the Scottish Carers Supplement. This is replacing the Carer’s Allowance Supplement – a lump sum payment made every six months.
Rather than getting a lump sum, anyone on Carer Support Payment will now receive an additional weekly payment of £11.29 (£11.70 from April) instead. This works out the same amount as the previously-paid lump sums, only it’s now spread out as a weekly amount.
You need to be in receipt of the Carer Support Payment to get the Scottish Carer Supplement. If you only receive the Universal Credit carer element but haven’t claimed Carer Support Payment, you will not qualify.
As long as you are living in Scotland and receiving Carer Support Payment on 15 March 2026, you will receive the supplement automatically without needing to make any application.
Scottish Carer Supplement is ignored as income for Universal Credit and other means-tested benefits such as Council Tax reduction.
Improvements to the Carer Support Payment
Alongside these two new payments, the Scottish government is making some changes to the Carer Support Payment rules.
Extending bereavement run-on
When a cared-for person dies, their carer currently continues to receive Carer Support Payment for eight weeks after their death.
This is being extended to the first 12 weeks where the cared-for person dies on or after 15 March 2026.
Temporary breaks in care
Under existing rules, someone on a temporary break in caring will continue to get Carer Support Payment only if they have been caring for a minimum number of weeks. (This is 14 or 22, depending on their circumstances.)
From 15 March this requirement will be scrapped. Anyone on Carer Support Payment will retain payments throughout a short break in caring, regardless of when they started caring. These new “temporary breaks in care” rules will also apply to Scottish Carer Supplement and any Carer Additional Person Payment.
Frequently Asked Questions
Universal Credit income deductions
I get Universal Credit with a carer element. I also get Carer Support Payment, but that is deducted from my Universal Credit. My Carer Support Payment may increase because I start to get an extra Scottish Carer Supplement and a Carer Additional Person Payment. But won’t that extra money simply be deducted from my Universal Credit leaving me no better off?
It’s true that the Carer Support Payment you receive is treated as income and deducted from your Universal Credit. That is not changing. However, the good news is that any Scottish Carer Supplement or Carer Additional Person Payment you get is treated differently. These new additional amounts are ignored as income and won’t affect your Universal Credit payments.
Does an underlying Carer Support Payment entitlement count?
I am the full-time carer for my severely-disabled grandchild. I recently qualified for my state pension, and this has replaced my Carer Support Payment. However I still have an “underlying entitlement” to that benefit. Will I get the Scottish Carer Supplement?
Unfortunately not. Both Scottish Carer Supplement and Carer Additional Person Payment are only paid to those who actually receive Carer Support Payment. You can’t get them if you only have an underlying entitlement.
Overlapping caring hours
I am a lone parent with two disabled children, both on Child Disability Payment. My frail elderly father, who gets Pension Age Disability Payment, also lives with me. I care for him for more than 20 hours a week. However sometimes the care I give to my dad overlaps with the care I am providing to my children.Does it have to be separate hours to qualify for the carer additional person payment?
You should be able to get Carer Support Payment for one of your children and the Carer Additional Person Payment for two people: your other child and your dad. It’s OK that you are looking after more than one person at the same time – these hours still count. You don’t have to show that you are caring for them at different times.
The Universal Credit carer element
I get both Carer Support Payment and Universal Credit with a carer element. If I qualify for a Carer Additional Person Payment because I look after a second person, will I get a second carer element in my Universal Credit too?
No, getting a Carer Additional Person Payment does not lead to a second carer element in your Universal Credit.
The draft guidance is for schools and is an update to the 2015 statutory guidance. It affects all children with medical needs, from asthma and epilepsy to diabetes, allergies, and long‑term health conditions.
Why this matters
If your child has a medical condition, this guidance shapes:
How schools plan to keep your child safe.
Who is trained to support them.
How schools manage medication.
How they handle emergencies.
How the school communicates and reviews your child’s needs.
How the school supports your child to fully participate in school life.
School governors, academy proprietors and pupil referral units must “have regard” to statutory guidance when carrying out their statutory duty to arrange to support pupils at school with medical condition, including on school trips.
How does this draft differ from the current guidance?
Changes proposed include:
A major new section on allergy safety.
Schools must publish their medical conditions policy – not just have one.
Clearer process for identifying children with medical conditions.
Clearer definition of who needs an Individual Health Plan, what it must include, and how often it must be reviewed.
Stronger focus on inclusion, wellbeing, and a participation in school life.
What the consultation doesn’t include
The consultation excludes guidance on the all-important delegation of clinical and healthcare tasks. These are tasks that a regulated healthcare professional gives to non-healthcare staff in the school caring for children.
There is no publication date for promised DfE and Department of Health and Social Care joint non-statutory guidance.
Amanda Elliot, Contact’s health lead, says guidance on how to care for medically complex children in school was long overdue:
“Parents and schools urgently need clarity on arrangements for safe delivery of more complicated health and clinical care in schools. Medically complex children are missing school as a result. One parent was forced go into school to tend to her child’s tracheostomy in a school broom cupboard, which is completely unacceptable.”
How to have your say
The DfE wants to hear directly from parents, carers, families, and young people. The consultation closes at 11:59pm on 1 May 2026.
You can read the draft guidance and respond to the consultation directly on the DfE website.
Alternatively, you can share views via Contact’s consultation response by email [email protected]
This advice applies in England and Wales only.
Low-income disabled households with a water meter will get reduced water bills as part of reform to the WaterSure scheme in England and Wales.
All suppliers will offer the scheme to households in which someone claims DLA, PIP or Attendance Allowance and the household income is less than £25,745.
Your household will still need to have a high essential use of water due to having three or more children or a medical need. However, you will no longer need to provide notes from your GP proving this. Alternative proof like a prescription or NHS letter may be accepted.
A further change will see water suppliers use the lowest calculation of those available to determine the WaterSure cap. This will save households of more than one person on average £26 a year. The cap will also be adjusted for single households, who will save an additional £100 as a result.
Attempts to address rising home-to-school transport costs with cuts to post-16 provision is putting access to education at risk for children and young people with SEND (special educational needs and disabilities), the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) has found.
In the PAC’s report published today, the committee describes the £2.3 billion school transport service as “vital”, but financially unsustainable. Councils have responded with cost-saving measures, including restricting non-statutory provision, particularly for 16–19-year-olds. But the committee says these are likely to affect attendance and participation and could contribute to rising NEET levels. (NEET stands for not in education, employment or training).
Contact welcomes the committee’s scrutiny, but urge against solutions that remove door-to-door transport for those children who need it.
Post-16 “cliff edge” keeping parents out of work
The report highlights a sharp “cliff edge” at 16, when changes to entitlement mean local authorities have discretion over what support, if any, they provide.
Parents and colleges gave evidence to the committee of young people missing learning or failing to start courses because of a lack of suitable transport . The report also notes specific concerns about the impact of the cliff edge on children and young people with SEND.
Parents help shape PAC report
We’d like to thank everyone who replied to our transport for 16-19 year olds survey. Your replies helped us produce robust and up-to-date evidence on school and college transport which we then fed back to the PAC.
The report contains evidence from Contact throughout. We highlighted the importance of transport to disabled students and their families and the impact of cuts to post-16 transport. 40% of families report an impact on their ability to work due to a lack of transport.
Among its key recommendations, the committee asks the Department for Education (DfE) to:
Set out how planned SEND reforms will reduce transport costs and when savings will materialise.
Improve its understanding of the relationship between transport, attendance and NEET,
Make transport data collection mandatory and standardised to establish a clear baseline for reform.
The committee calls on the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government to ensure its new funding formula properly aligns resources with need and to address SEND deficits without forcing further service cuts.
Urgent need to stabilise funding without harming disabled students
Contact welcomes the committee’s scrutiny of school and college transport and the impact it has on disabled students and their families.
We share the ambition that the proposed SEND reforms will improve inclusive education for SEND children and young people, which should, in turn, relieve some of the pressure on home to school transport. In the meantime, efforts to contain costs must not have a negative impact on disabled students.
The committee’s report recognises that a shift in expectation from door-to-door school transport to broader “travel assistance” may work for some children, but will not suit all. Those with the most significant needs may always require bespoke home-to-education transport.
For SEND students and their families, there remains an urgent need to stabilise funding, protect services and improve post-16 provision. Transport must be a bridge to education, not a barrier.
Thanks to funding from the Motability Foundation, Contact is campaigning to improve transport to school or college. Read more about our school transport campaign.
Right now, 80,000 young disabled people are locked out of money their families saved for their future. Due to mental capacity rules, their families must go through the Court of Protection to access their child’s money. This is a prohibitively lengthy, costly and complex process. There were just 70 court applications from families between September 2020 and May 2023.
There is a route that safeguards money with rigorous checks and balances, but allows easier access to savings. This route is called the “industry” process. The UK’s largest Child Trust Fund provider, OneFamily, has safely released funds to more than 2,500 disabled young people this way. But not all providers offer this route.
That’s why we are calling on the government to legislate so families can access this same fair route no matter where their savings are held. Today’s event, organised by parent campaigner Andrew Turner, Contact and OneFamily, will shine a spotlight on this matter.
“Every young person should be able to benefit from their savings in Child Trust Funds or Junior ISAs. There’s compelling evidence that the court process is inaccessible to families simply trying to help their child access one small savings account. We need bold action from the government to put an end to this obvious inequality.”
Sarah Smith, MP for Hyndburn and Haslingden, is sponsoring the event at the Palace of Westminster. She says:
“Families shouldn’t have to face a disproportionately complex court process to access their trust fund. I know Ministers are committed to finding a workable solution, but this inadvertent omission has been allowed to stand for far too long. Now is the time to set all bureaucratic obstacles aside and solve the issue.”
Anna Bird, Chief Executive at Contact, adds:
“Parents with disabled children are under enormous everyday pressures. They don’t need an extra battle to access money invested for their child’s future. We know this industry process safeguards young disabled people’s money at the same time as ensuring families don’t have to go through an arduous court process. We’d like to see the government back it.”
We want to say thank you to all our supporters who emailed their MP asking them to attend today’s event.
It’s important to note that the Child Trust Fund may have been converted to a Junior ISA. If so, you may encounter the same challenges accessing a Junior ISA as accessing a Child Trust Fund.
If you have any questions about trying to claim Universal Credit for a disabled young person in education, you can also call our free helpline on 0808 808 3555 (Mon-Fri; 9.30am-5pm).
The cross-party committees are seeking evidence from parents, young people, families and professionals. The aim is to examine how well the system is meeting mental health needs.
Amanda Elliot, Contact’s health lead welcomed the inquiry:
“It’s long overdue. It is vital we understand the relationship between disabled children’s mental health and the way they are supported in and out of school. Persistently high rates of school exclusions, placement breakdowns and anxiety-related school refusal show something needs to change. There is important work still to be done to get this right for our children.”
What the committee will look at
The inquiry will examine:
Mental health support and services in education and community settings – such as mental health support teams in school – from early years up to the age of 25.
Contact will be making a written submission. If you would like us to include your views and experiences and mental health and education, email [email protected]
We will be closely examining the white paper and update you on the detail over the next few days.
Schools white paper consultation opens
The government has now published its consultation document and asks for comments from everyone with an interest. There are 39 questions (Annex C) which cover how to best support children and young people, targeted support, specialist support, accountability and responses to changes to the system. P
You can take part online (please note you don’t need to answer every question).
You can also respond to this consultation via email at [email protected], or by post to: SENDAP Reform, Sanctuary Buildings, Great Smith Street, London, SW1P 3BT
The consultation closes on11:59pm on18 May 2026.
Join a Contact focus group
We’re running a series of focus groups to find out what you think about the schools white paper.
Your views will inform our response to the white paper consultation.
All schools will have to create an Individual Support Plan (ISP) for every child with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) that clearly set out the help a child will receive, the government has announced today. The support will follow a national framework and be tailored by teachers and specialists.
The government says extra funding will make services like speech and language therapy and small group teaching easier to access.
The publication of a white paper does not change existing SEND law. Your child’s legal rights to support remain in place.
Education health and care (EHC) plans for complex support
Anna Bird, CEO of Contact and Co-chair of the Disabled Children’s Partnership says:
“The government’s announcement on plans to improve the special educational needs system in England, in particular their vision to improve support for children without the battle that many parents currently encounter, is one we warmly welcome.
“In particular we applaud the announcement of a new legal right to an Independent Support Plan – school-based support. This was a key Contact recommendation. If children are supported in school as soon as their additional needs become apparent, many families will not have to go through a lengthy and traumatic legal process to get support for their child.
“We are also relieved to see the SEND tribunal is retained. This is vital for families to hold the system to account when things go wrong or secure an EHC plan or a special school place if their child needs one.
“We are concerned about the eligibility of EHC plans, which is not clear from today’s announcement. We will look at the details of the white paper and work with families, ministers and MPs to ensure changes to the law work for every child with additional needs.”
No child will lose support already in place
The government has said that no child will lose effective support already in place:
Every child with a special school place in 2029 will keep it if they want it until they finish education.
Children with EHC plans in mainstream schools will not be moved to ISPs until at least 2030. And this will only happen when moving between school stages (for example, primary to secondary).
Transition for children with an EHC plan in mainstream settings who will best supported in the future via an ISP, rather than an EHC plan, will only begin from 2030 once the new inclusive mainstream system has been fully built. This will only happen as children naturally move between phases, like from primary to secondary
ISPs will be in place for children transitioning from an EHC plan before they move to the new system. This will mean there is no break in support.
We will be closely examining the Schools White Paper and update you on the detail over the next few days.
Contact welcomes the government’s £4 billion investment over three years to make mainstream schools more inclusive and reduce the adversarial battles families face.
Anna Bird, CEO of Contact and Chair of the Disabled Children’s Partnership, said:
“The government’s promise to tackle the SEND crisis so that every disabled child can achieve and thrive is a vision we share.
“We strongly welcome investment in better training of teachers, readily-available specialist support and more accessible buildings in mainstream schools where SEND pupils can be mates they grow up with. These changes could transform the lives of hundreds of thousands of children.
“We are concerned though that the government has failed to answer parents’ questions about whether legal changes will reduce existing rights. Families are worried these might make it even harder to hold the system to account when things go wrong or secure an education, health and care (EHC) plan or a special school place if their child needs one.
“We will look at the details of the white paper and work with families, ministers and MPs to ensure changes to the law work for every child with additional needs.”
Inclusive Mainstream Fund
The proposed £1.6 billion Inclusive Mainstream Fund could significantly improve school-based support (currently known as SEN Support), reducing the need for families to pursue lengthy EHC plan processes simply to secure appropriate help.
Investment in early identification, tailored interventions and adaptive teaching is essential. Supporting staff to recognise and respond to common special educational needs is a positive step.
However, strengthened SEN Support must not become a substitute for specialist provision where it is required. EHC plans remain a vital legal safeguard and must be protected.
It is currently unclear whether the fund will be ringfenced. We would support ringfencing to ensure funding is used specifically to improve SEND provision. We would also welcome clear national oversight potentially through an accountability mechanism similar to Ofsted — to ensure transparency and impact.
Experts at Hand (£1.8bn)
We applaud the proposed ‘Experts at Hand’ service. This will create a local bank of SEND professionals including occupational therapists, educational psychologists and specialist teachers. Access to specialist expertise without requiring an EHCP could reduce delays and unmet need.
However, this proposal will only succeed if there is a credible plan to address workforce shortages. There are currently significant gaps in the availability of occupational therapists, educational psychologists and speech and language therapists. Without a parallel workforce expansion strategy, delivery risks falling short of ambition.
We support the new requirement for all teachers to be trained to support children with SEND. And we welcome the £200 million already announced for teacher training.
The proposal to use special and alternative provision schools to provide outreach and short-term placements recognises their expertise. However, this must not overstretch specialist settings or compromise the support available to children already placed there.
The role of specialist provision
We agree that children should not have to travel long distances to access suitable support. Greater quality local provision is welcome.
However, locality can never take precedence over a setting’s ability to meet a child’s full range of needs. Some children will always require specialist provision, and there must remain a clear, protected place for specialist settings within the system.
Supporting families to navigate the system
We hope the government will build on investment in Best Start Family Hubs to strengthen SEND outreach and provide practical support to families navigating the system, particularly at key transition points.
What happens next?
We will be closely examining the Schools White Paper when it’s published later today to ensure:
It does not become harder to secure an EHC plan.
Specialist provision remains available where needed.
Families can still hold local authorities to account.
We’ll continue working with families, policymakers, Ministers and MPs to ensure reforms genuinely reduce conflict and improve outcomes. We will also keep families updated as more information becomes available.
“It is deeply disappointing to see another leak about SEND (special educational needs and disabilities) reform that will add to the anxiety of families already broken from dealing with a system that doesn’t work. Behind all the speculation are parents who just want the ordinary for their children. A safe education, access to the health and social care their sons and daughters deserve, and a chance for them to make friends.
“As our conversations with families, released today, confirm, that is not happening. Because of lack of support, almost half (47%) of parents feel they can’t safely care for their children. 37% have been forced to give up work, and 57% feel they have been lied to by authorities that are meant to support them.
“What the vast majority (98%) of families want from SEND reform is a legal guarantee to support that is outlined in a written plan and for well-trained education, health and care departments to work together to deliver that.
“What families fear most is higher thresholds for eligibility to EHC (education, health and care) plans, decreased rather than increased accountability of decision makers, and withdrawal of the right to challenge decisions.
“The Disabled Children’s Partnership has been fighting hard to make sure the voices of the hundreds of thousands of parents and young people our membership represents are heard. We will continue to do this during the 12 week consultation on the Government’s plans.”
Contact is here with support and advice
With all the current uncertainty, parent’s trust in the system is understandably at an all time low.
Yesterday the County Councils Network (CCN) published a report warning about the rising demand for school transport for children with SEND (special educational needs and disabilities). It warned that costs are going up at an unsustainable rate and could cost councils £3.4bn by 2030-31.
In the report they suggested that one way to reduce council costs would be to means test for school transport. This would mean that families above a specified income threshold could be required to make a financial contribution to home-to-school transport.
“School transport should be based on a child’s need and not what their parents earn. Means testing access to school transport would not only be a reduction in rights for disabled children and young people by restricting their access to education, it could also prevent parents from working. Families with disabled children already have higher costs. Means testing based on parents’ income could potentially ignore these extra burdens. A family earning what’s considered above the threshold on paper may have far less disposable income in reality. Families just above the threshold could face thousands of pounds in transport costs as a result.
“Transporting disabled children to school is far more complicated than for their non-disabled peers. Many disabled children can’t attend the schools local to them because either they require specialist provision, local schools aren’t accessible, or don’t have the places. Means testing transport doesn’t just balance budgets – it risks locking disabled children and young people out of education altogether.”
If you need information or advice, look at our online resources for transport in England or contact our helpline.
Contact’s latest podcast episode featuring ARFID awareness advocate Michelle Jacques is shining a spotlight on Avoidant/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder (ARFID) – a complex and often misunderstood eating disorder affecting children and young people across the UK.
In the episode, Michelle shares her family’s journey as her autistic son developed increasingly restrictive eating from early childhood. What began as sensory sensitivities progressed to a severely limited diet, bringing years of anxiety and battles to get medical support.
Michelle speaks candidly about the emotional toll on the whole family, the frustration of having concerns dismissed as ‘fussy eating’, and the daily challenges ARFID brings.
But the conversation is also one of hope. Michelle explains how removing pressure around food, focusing on happiness, and accessing appropriate medical support has helped transform her son’s health and wellbeing.
In this article
Advice for parents navigating ARFID
Drawing on her lived experience, Michelle shared several key messages for other parents in the episode.
Remove pressure around food
For many children with ARFID, pressure can worsen anxiety and restriction.
Focus on nourishment, not perfection
The goal is a happy, fed child – not a picture-perfect plate every mealtime. Better eating habits can be built over time.
Understand sensory and anxiety triggers
ARFID is often rooted in sensory sensitivity, fear of choking, vomiting, or negative past experiences. Try to understand what the triggers are for your child.
Prepare for setbacks
ARFID is a rollercoaster – you might make some progress, but illness or another trigger could lead to some ‘safe foods’ being rejected again. Learn to accept that this will happen and know that it can improve again.
Accept that it isn’t your fault
The guilt can feel overwhelming at times, but try to remind yourself that it is not your fault.
Advocate
Available support through the NHS can be a postcode lottery, even after obtaining a diagnosis. Keep pushing for recognition, referrals, and appropriate support.
Find community
Parenting a child with ARFID can feel lonely – connecting with other parents who truly understand can really help.
Where to find ARFID support
Michelle also shared some links to support that she’s personally found very helpful.
Many disabled children are entitled to free school meals, but struggle to access their entitlement to them because of their disability or medical condition. This includes some children with ARFID.
Schools have a legal duty to make “reasonable adjustments” to the way they deliver free school lunches. Use our legal guide and these template letters to ask your school for a food voucher. This includes if your child is in receipt of an EOTAS package.
More ARFID support from Michelle
Michelle co-hosts a brilliant podcast 3 Mums 1 Mission – ARFID, available on Spotify and other podcast platforms.
Michelle also runs face-to-face and online workshops for families in Essex via the charity SEND The Right Message. Here she shares her lived experience and knowledge to help parents understand eating difficulties within neurodivergent families.
Michelle and her co-hosts from the 3 Mums 1 Mission – ARFID podcast
Where can I listen?
You can subscribe to our podcast on your platform of choice:
Thousands of disabled young people are being locked out of their own savings when they turn 18.
Child Trust Funds and Junior ISAs are designed to give young people a financial start in adulthood. But for those who lack mental capacity to manage their money, accessing those savings can mean facing a complex, lengthy and often costly legal process.
For many families, this feels deeply unfair. These savings were set aside for their child’s future yet when that future arrives, the money can be out of reach.
We are taking this to Parliament
On Wednesday 4 March, Contact and the UK’s largest Child Trust Fund provider, OneFamily, have organised a parliamentary meeting.
MPs will have the opportunity to hear from families and financial providers about the possible solutions to unlocking savings.
MPs are much more likely to attend if they hear from families in their constituency.
This is a real opportunity to move the issue forward. Together, we can help unlock savings for disabled young people.
Need advice?
To find out the steps you need to take in order for your child to claim their Child Trust Fund, please use our flow chart below.
It’s important to note that the Child Trust Fund may have been converted to a Junior ISA. If so, you may encounter the same challenges accessing a Junior ISA as accessing a Child Trust Fund.
Because the donation comes out of your salary before income tax is deducted, you’ll pay less to give more to support our vital services.
So if you pledge a £10 monthly donation, Contact will receive the full amount. But only £8 will be deducted from your net pay each month if you’re on the basic 20% tax rate.
How to start payroll giving
We’d love for your employer to encourage their staff to consider supporting Contact in this way.
Here are a few easy steps to get started:
Speak to your HR or Payroll team to check if they have a Payroll Giving scheme in place.
Just like we did for Yasmin, who says: “The extra money helps with our travel costs to our many hospital appointments and the additional care we need to support Arisha. I feel less isolated knowing I can contact you if I need advice or someone to talk to.”
A parent carer who plays Contact’s weekly charity lottery to support families like her own has been celebrating after scooping our first £1,000 prize of 2026!
Elizabeth, whose child has special educational needs (SEN), said winning felt “incredibly exciting” – and even more meaningful because she knows first-hand how important Contact’s services are for families with disabled children.
“I joined the Contact Lottery over five years ago because I truly believed in the charity and the difference a small monthly contribution can make to families,” she said. “As a parent of a child with SEN, I know how vital that kind of support is.”
Elizabeth now plans to treat herself to some new craft supplies, a hobby she enjoys in her spare time.
And thanks to amazing players like her, we can continue to be there for thousands of families with disabled children across the UK who rely on our advice and support.
Join today and get a FREE photo magnet
We celebrated a whopping 16 jackpots in 2026. That’s a £1,000 winner around every three weeks – alongside hundreds of other cash prizes throughout the year.
Join the fun for just £1 a week and we’ll send you a FREE photo frame magnet in the post as a thank you for your support!
The special magnet features a detachable window so you can display your favourite family photo on your fridge. It’ll be a small daily reminder of the BIG difference you’re helping to make for families with disabled children.
The Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) has published new regulations this week that should increase the number of people who receive higher Universal Credit health element payments when rules change in April.
What is the health element of Universal Credit?
The health element is also known as the limited capability for work- and work-related activity (LCWRA) element. It is an additional payment in your Universal Credit award where you have health problems and have been assessed as having LCWRA. Currently it is paid at a flat rate of £423.27 per calendar month.
How is the health element changing from April?
From 6 April, the health element will be paid at one of two rates. There will be a higher rate of £429.80 per month and a new lower rate of £217.26 per month. The higher rate will be paid to three groups of Universal Credit claimants:
Pre-existing claimants – this is known as being a ‘pre-2026’ claimant.
New claimants who are terminally ill.
New claimants who meet new severe conditions criteria.
To meet the severe conditions criteria, you must both:
Have a life-long condition that a practitioner acting on behalf of the NHS has diagnosed.
Be assessed as “constantly” meeting at least one of the LCWRA descriptors used in the work capability assessment.
What difference do the new regulations published this week make?
The new regulations increase the number of people who will be classed as a pre-2026 claimant. These claimants are automatically protected to receive the higher rate of the health element.
The new regulations mean that anyone who has claimed Universal Credit before 6 April, and who also has requested that their capacity for work be assessed before that same date, should be treated as a pre-2026 claimant. It doesn’t matter if their entitlement to a health element starts from a later date.
Until now, it was understood that to be protected as a pre-2026 claimant, you not only needed to have claimed Universal Credit on or before 5 April 2026. You also would have needed to have an entitlement to the health element that started on or before that date.
Protected if you claim before 6 April
You will therefore be protected as a pre-2026 claimant if you are a Universal Credit claimant who either:
Is awaiting a work capability assessment before 6 April and you are awarded LCWRA at a later date.
Already has LCWRA, but entitlement to the LCWRA element is not yet in place because of the three-month “qualifying period”. (There is normally a three-month period between first submitting fit notes as part of a Universal Credit claim and getting the health element added to the award.)
A disabled adult who claims Universal Credit and asks for their capacity for work to be assessed before 6 April should be protected.
People moving onto Universal Credit from ESA
The new regulations also benefit some people who move from Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) to Universal Credit.
ESA claimants will be protected as a pre-2026 claimant, even if they claim Universal credit after 5 April. For this to apply, you must:
Be entitled to a support component as part of an ESA award on 5 April 2026.
Continue to receive this ESA support component until the date you eventually claim Universal Credit.
My child will claim Universal Credit after 5 April. He had previously established LCWRA via a credits-only claim for ESA. Will he be protected?
No, unfortunately not.
The rules allowing someone to be protected as a pre-2026 claimant, even though they claim Universal Credit after 5 April, only apply to claimants who have an actual award of ESA. It doesn’t apply to those who don’t get ESA, but who have instead established LCWRA via a ‘credits only’ claim.
A young person who has established LCWRA via a ‘credits-only’ claim for ESA will only be protected as a pre-2026 claimant if they manage to successfully claim Universal Credit on or before 5 April.
If, because of their studies, your child does not get Universal credit until some date after 5 April 2026, they will not be classed as a pre-2026 claimant. This remains the case even if they have already established LCWRA via a credits-only claim for ESA.
In this scenario, your young person’s chances of getting the higher rate of the health element as part of their later Universal Credit claim will depend on whether they meet the new severe conditions criteria.
More information on our website
You can find more information about these topics on our website:
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