Who we are, what we do
The Disability and Carers Service (DCS) is an executive agency of the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP). The agency is committed to supporting the Government’s welfare reform agenda and the DWP’s aim ‘to promote opportunity and independence for all’.
Employing nearly 7,000 people working on a full-time and part-time basis across the country, the DCS provides financial support for more than five million disabled people and carers through the administration of:
- Disability Living Allowance (DLA);
- Attendance Allowance (AA);
- Carer’s Allowance (CA); and
- Vaccine Damage Payments (VDP).
The DCS vision is to:
Enable independence, by supporting the diverse needs of disabled people and carers.
About the benefits
DLA and AA are non-means-tested, tax-free benefits for people who need help with personal care or who have walking difficulties because they are physically or mentally disabled. Unlike most other benefits, they are not conditional on unemployment or low income.
CA makes a contribution to the financial needs of people who, for 35 hours a week or more, care for severely disabled persons in receipt of DLA or AA.
VDPs are one-off, tax-free payments made to people who have suffered severe disability as a result of vaccination against certain diseases.