Disability Living Allowance for children timeliness performance, for new claims cleared between 1 August 2025 and 31 March 2026
Published 7 May 2026
© Crown copyright 2026
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This publication is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/dla-for-children-for-claims-cleared-between-1-august-2025-and-31-march-2026/disability-living-allowance-for-children-timeliness-performance-for-new-claims-cleared-between-1-august-2025-and-31-march-2026
Introduction
This publication provides ad hoc statistics on the timeliness performance of Disability Living Allowance (DLA) for children for claims cleared between 1 August 2025 and 31 March 2026.
Main story
Between 1 August 2025 and 31 March 2026, the Department for Work and Pensions cleared around 185,900 Disability Living Allowance for children new claims, of which 68.3% (126,900) were cleared within 45 working days. In this time, the percentage of claims cleared within the planned timescales rose from 4.7% to 90.7%.
Results
Disability Living Allowance for children timeliness performance, for new claims cleared between 1 August 2025 and 31 March 2026
| Month | Clearance Total | Cleared within 45 working days | Percentage of claims cleared within 45 working days |
|---|---|---|---|
| August 2025 | 27,900 | 1,300 | 4.7% |
| September 2025 | 32,200 | 15,900 | 49.5% |
| October 2025 | 29,400 | 24,800 | 84.1% |
| November 2025 | 22,000 | 19,100 | 86.8% |
| December 2025 | 15,900 | 13,700 | 86.1% |
| January 2026 | 19,000 | 16,500 | 87.0% |
| February 2026 | 17,200 | 15,400 | 89.4% |
| March 2026 | 22,400 | 20,300 | 90.7% |
| Total | 185,900 | 126,900 | 68.3% |
Source: DWP Management Information
Notes to table:
- this time series covers August 2025 to March 2026 in line with when the current timeliness standard was introduced
- data is not seasonally adjusted
- new claim count data has been rounded to the nearest 100
- figures in the table may not sum to totals due to rounding
About these statistics
The figures presented in this release use internal management information from the DLA computer system, which has been collated for internal departmental use only and has not been quality assured to the same extent as Official Statistics.
Please note this information has been produced as a discrete data set to meet the requirements of this specific event. As a result, figures may vary slightly from those published elsewhere, for example in the Annual Report and Accounts, due to minor retrospective changes in source data. These differences are not significant and will not impact the key conclusions relating to the service offered.
Statement of Application of the Code of Practice for Statistics
The Code of Practice for Statistics (the Code) is built around 3 main concepts, or pillars:
- Trustworthiness – having confidence in the people and organisations that publish statistics
- Quality – using data and methods that produce statistics
- Value – publishing statistics that support society’s needs
The following explains how we have applied the pillars of the Code in a proportionate way.
Trustworthiness
DWP analysts work to a professional competency framework and Civil Service core values of integrity, honesty, objectivity, and impartiality. The analysis in this release has been scrutinised and received sign off by the expert lead analyst.
We protect the security of our data in order to maintain the privacy of the citizen, fulfil relevant legal obligations and uphold our obligation that no statistics will be produced that are likely to identify an individual, while at the same time taking account of our obligation to obtain maximum value from the data we hold for statistical purposes. All analysts are given security training and the majority of data accessed by analysts is obfuscated and access is business case controlled to the minimum data required.
The figures have been seen in advance by Ministers and officials, in line with the Code, where pre-release access does not apply for an ad hoc analysis release.
Quality
This publication uses internal management information from DWP’s DLA internal systems and has not been quality assured to Official Statistics publication standards. However, engagement has taken place with data owners to ensure this data is fit-for-purpose and of sufficient quality for publication. Multiple rounds of quality assurance have been applied to ensure the data is as accurate and reliable as possible.
Value
These statistics are being published to ensure they are available in the public domain following reference in the House of Commons by the Minister for Social Security and Disability during oral Parliamentary Questions on 27 April 2026.