Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to support families with a child receiving home dialysis with energy costs.

Children undergoing renal dialysis may qualify for the middle rate care component of Disability Living Allowance (DLA). Depending on when and where they dialyse, they may be treated as satisfying the disability tests for the day or night. DLA can also enable families to access a range of additional support, such as the blue badge scheme and exemption from the benefits cap.

Paediatric home haemodialysis services are commissioned by NHS England and provided by specialist renal centres. There is currently no national tariff for paediatric home dialysis and as such it is at the discretion of individual providers as to whether additional direct utility costs for patients are reimbursed. The Renal Services Clinical Reference Group has begun a review of the reimbursement process for children receiving home dialysis.