Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Business and Trade on the adequacy of financial support for parents of critically and terminally ill children.

Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State regularly meets with colleagues across Government to discuss a range of issues.

Many parents caring for children and young people with serious illnesses are likely to need additional support through social security. Financial support is available through Universal Credit (UC), a means tested benefit, which if needed, can offer support available on day one through a UC advance. There is also Disability Living Allowance (DLA) for children aged under 16 and Personal Independence Payment (PIP) for those over 16. They are available if a child or young person’s condition or illness is of a long-term nature and gives rise to care, daily living or mobility needs. These are not means-tested.

For claimants at the end of life, the Government’s priority is to provide financial support quickly and compassionately through special benefit rules – called the Special Rules for End of Life (SREL). For parents with children nearing the end of life these enable families to get faster, and guaranteed, access to the care component of DLA or the daily living components of PIP, without having to undergo a functional assessment or serve a qualifying period.

People caring for a child in these circumstances can use an independent, free and anonymous benefits calculator to check what they could be entitled to. These are available on Gov.uk and provide estimates of the benefits someone could get, how these payments are affected by re-starting work or by a change in circumstances change.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, when he will launch a consultation into giving employment protection and financial assistance to the parents of critically or terminally ill children.

Answered by Kate Dearden - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)

The Department for Business and Trade recognises the heartbreaking situation faced by parents of seriously ill children. We will consult on a leave and pay entitlement for parents in this situation in 2026. Further detail is included in the terms of reference for the review of employment rights for unpaid carers, which was published on 19 November 2025.

There are no plans to extend existing Neonatal Care Leave and Pay legislation to the parents of older children. This would be unsuitable, as it would require altering core principles of an act specifically designed around neonatal care and would risk impacting on the Act’s policy aims.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of extending neonatal care pay and leave to parents of all critically ill children under 16.

Answered by Kate Dearden - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)

The Department for Business and Trade recognises the heartbreaking situation faced by parents of seriously ill children. We will consult on a leave and pay entitlement for parents in this situation in 2026. Further detail is included in the terms of reference for the review of employment rights for unpaid carers, which was published on 19 November 2025.

There are no plans to extend existing Neonatal Care Leave and Pay legislation to the parents of older children. This would be unsuitable, as it would require altering core principles of an act specifically designed around neonatal care and would risk impacting on the Act’s policy aims.

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