Disability element of ctc

Crownjooolz

Can some one please help me out on here. Is there somewhere that I can find a definitive description of what and who the disability element of ctc should be used for. I receive this element in with my child tax credits award for my son who is disabled.
The problem I have is that we are on a very restricted income and my partner (who is not my sons father) pays csa for a child with his former partner. I don't have a problem with paying. I have problem with the fact the csa include my 3 children's tax credit allowance as his income, this includes a disability element for my son. Now in my eyes this disability premium is to help towards the extra costs a disabled child brings. This is not to be spent or classed as income towards paying for another child.
Can someone please advise me? I have contacted csa and they say it's in with the ctc we are counting it as income. I also receive a childcare element in with my ctc award to help towards childcare for another of my children, I argued with the csa that this should not be counted as I only receive it to help pay for the childcare and the csa then agreed and do no longer count this.
Why do they still count the disability element which is for the disabled child??

Icequeen99

There aren't any rules in tax credits on what the disabled child element should be used for. The rules only relate to who qualifies for it. You, as the claimant, get the extra money because your child meets the rules. There is nothing that says what it has to be spent on.

I suppose there is an argument that the CTC you get for each child should be for the care/costs of that child and therefore that should be excluded too. What I am saying is that you could make a similar argument out for the different elements. Childcare is different because that is an external cost of course.

I think you need to be looking at the child maintenance legislation - so maybe posting on the child support board might help.

IQ

FBaby

I see your point, morally, it doesn't seem right. At the same time, as there are no expectation that this element is spent purely towards the disability of your child, the argument that it should be used on this basis can't apply. It has to be one way or the other.

DerbyDD

Child Tax Credits are no longer used in the calculation for CSA. You need to ask for a reassessment as they wont alter the amounts automatically.