Hospital and benefits - Benefits for your children

You can carry on getting Child Benefit when you are in hospital as long as you use the money to support the child and no one else applies for the benefit for your child. It may be better for someone else to claim Child Benefit especially if you are going to be in hospital for a long time. Get advice if this applies to you.

You can carry on getting Child Tax Credit for a child who normally lives with you when you are not in hospital. It might be better for someone else, for example the person looking after your child, to claim Child Tax Credit or the Child element of Universal Credit for the child when you are in hospital. Get advice if this applies to you.

You can carry on getting the Child Element of Universal Credit for a child who normally lives with you when you are not in hospital. It might be better for someone else, for example the person looking after your child, to claim the Child Element when you are in hospital. Get advice if this applies to you.

You can carry on getting the Scottish Child Payment for a child who normally lives with you when you are not in hospital. It might be better for someone else, for example the person looking after your child to claim it. Get advice if this applies to you.

You can use our Find an Adviser tool to find a local adviser.