Are you ready for some fun?
You could receive £880 a year to spend on activities for a disabled child or young person.
What’s on offer?
In 2026-27 you get:
AnIndividual Budget of £880* for social or leisure activities of your choice
Or 110 hours* with one of our commissionedproviders, which you can use flexibly.
Who can apply?
Your child must be:
Between 5 and 17 years old**
Getting DLA (Disability Living Allowance, middle or high rate) or PIP (Personal Independence Payments, enhanced rate)
Living in Hackney permanently.
*This becomes either £440 or 55 hours if your care support package already includes activities. Families that join later in the year get a pro rata amount.
**We may offer some limited support for children under 5.
Get to know your pre-paid card
Your card is topped up twice a year:
April = £440
October = £440
The money can only be used for activities for your child.
If you already have a card, you can log in to your online banking here.
Your questions answered
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To be eligible, the child must be:
Between the ages 5-17 years old*
Living permanently in Hackney
Receiving middle or high rate of Disability Living Allowance (DLA)** for the help with the personal care component.
*If your child is aged between 3-4 and meets the other eligibility requirements, you can apply for a one off payment of £200. When you make the application, you will need to select the Under 5 option. You will only be eligible to receive this once per child.
** If your child is receiving Personal Independence Payments (PIP) then we require them to be receiving the enhanced rate for the daily living component.
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There are a few reasons why cards don’t work. Please check the following:
Have you activated the card?
The card will not work until it is activated. Every new card that you receive will need to be activated and the PIN number retrieved.You can do this by calling the automated number 0203 327 1991.
Do you still have funds available?
Check your balance by logging on to your prepaid card – there’s a link at the bottom of this website.Is the payment blocked?
Some types of payments will be automatically blocked to prevent the funding being misused in places or on things that are not allowed.For example, meals out and cinema snacks are not coverd.
Is there an issue with the shop or service?
Unfortunately, some companies or providers automatically block a payment, even though the service they provide should be eligible for Short Breaks funding.This means the card may not work even though the activity you are trying to do falls within the guidelines of what/where the funding can be used.
This is usually because of the way th ecompany has registered themselves.
For example, a bowling alley that also serves food may have registered itself as a restaurant. The card will not work here as you are not allowed to use Short Breaks funding for food and drink.
To avoid this happening, we encourage you to pre-book your activities before you go.
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The payments are added to your Individual Budget account twice a year, so you will get two equal payments of £440.
The first payment is added between April and May. The second payment is added between October and November.
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On 31st March (which is the end of the financial year) any unused funding or allocated hours are clawed back by the system.
So if you haven’t used it, you will lose it.
Funds or allocated hours cannot be rolled over and do not accumulate.
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Yes! Check out the Things to do section, which lets you search for things to do by your child’s interests, their age, the area you live in and many other things.
The HIT Squad also makes regular recommendations for seasonal activities – see What’s on? for the latest info.
