Plans to cut the number of benefits available to parents with disabled children from fifty-one to as few as two are being considered by the Conservatives.

The Times has learnt that one of David Cameron’s policy reviews is considering scrapping dozens of separate payments and grants to leave just one disability and one unemployment benefit.

The proposal was put forward by Jeremy Hunt and David Ruffley, the Tories’ spokesmen on disabilities and welfare reform. Mr Hunt said that the array of different benefits, spanning disability living allowance, carer’s allowance, income support carer’s premium, a range of grants and standard benefits for housing and child tax credits, meant that some parents faced 1,118 questions on 273 pages of forms, many requesting identical information.

But such a radical revision of the system would risk a backlash from charities and campaign groups that want simpler means of claiming but only if no one loses out.

There is increasing awareness of the needs of disabled children as parents become more assertive and media reports refer to Mr Cameron’s son, Ivan, who has cerebral palsy, and Gordon Brown’s son Fraser, who has cystic fibrosis.

The proposers say that the plan, submitted to a public services improvement group co-chaired by Stephen Dorrell, the former health secretary, is not intended to be cost saving. It is motivated by a belief that over-complex benefits can deter deserving families and trap disabled people into dependency.

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