Urgent action demanded to help disabled people with cost-of-living crisis

The UK Government is being urged to work with energy providers to establish a special discounted tariff for disabled people as part of “urgent action” to address the impact of the cost-of-living crisis.

The recommendation is in a new report produced jointly by the Glasgow Centre for Population Health and Glasgow Disability Alliance – which represents more than 5,500 disabled members.

It told how the costs crisis is resulting in disabled people in Glasgow going hungry and living in unheated homes, which it said is a “bleak picture of our society in 2023”.

It added: “Moreso, living like this is a direct violation of the human rights of disabled people.”

The “adverse impacts” of the cost-of-living crisis are “hugely concerning”, the report added, as it demanded action from both the Scottish and UK governments.

The report called for the UK Government to provide “adequate social security levels to support disabled people to live healthy lives and to compensate for the extra costs of disability” – such as the costs needed to buy and power the equipment they need to assist them.

Households with a disabled person need between £975 and £1,122 a month more to have the same standard of living as non-disabled households, with the report explaining: “Disabled people have to spend more on essential goods and services, such as heating, food and travel.

“Disabled people also face charges for using social care services in Scotland, which, unlike NHS services, are not always free at the point of delivery.”

In addition to providing “adequate” social security, the report recommends Westminster “works with energy providers to legislate for a discounted gas and electricity tariff for disabled people”.

This “social energy tariff” could be used to help “those that need to use more energy due to their condition or impairment, or use of electric assistive equipment”, it added.

Meanwhile, for politicians in Scotland the report said “the reduction of poverty among disabled people must become a devolved and local government priority”.

Disabled people involved in the preparation of the report said the “policy focus on disabled people was inconsistent and needed to be more sustained, with clearer aims relating to poverty reduction”.

They added that to be able to afford to live healthily, there needs to be a “sustained uplift in their welfare payments which keeps pace with inflation at a minimum and fully compensates for the extra costs of being disabled”.

Disabled people who spoke in focus groups as part of the research spoke about the “devastating impacts of the current crisis on their lives”.

One focus group participant told researchers: “There’s been plenty of times over the past year or so when I’ve went hungry for days, often I’ll just have one meal a day. I give what food we have to my kids.”

Another said they had not put the heating on in their home for almost two years, stating: “I cannot afford it.

“It’s just not an option for me, I just need to accept being cold, I put on loads of layers in the winter and sit with a quilt over me. I still shiver in the height of winter, it’s awful.”

The report meanwhile the cost-of-living crisis had “worsened poverty and financial insecurity, meaning that participants are unable to afford a healthy life”.

It stated: “Several participants report being unable to heat their homes over winter and going hungry or eating a nutritionally deficient diet.

“Focus group participants describe these circumstances as being utterly corrosive to mental health and wellbeing, particularly stress levels.

“Furthermore, going hungry and being cold directly compromises the management of participants’ health conditions, disrupting medication routines and worsening symptoms, including pain management.

“In terms of local and national government, disabled people must be considered a policy priority. As this report makes painfully clear, urgent action is essential.”

A UK Government spokesperson said: “We know the challenges people are facing, which is why we’re providing record financial support worth an average £3,300 per household, including up to £900 for those on means-tested benefits and a £150 disability support payment on top, while bearing down on inflation as a priority.

“Our welfare system provides a strong safety net for disabled people, with disability benefits rising by 10.1% earlier this year, and we are investing an additional £2 billion to support more sick and disabled people into work.”

A Scottish Government spokesperson said: “We are deeply concerned about the impact of the cost crisis on people’s health. The Scottish Government is doing everything within its powers and fixed budgets to ensure people, communities and businesses are supported as far as possible.

“Reducing health inequalities and ensuring that disabled people across Scotland are supported through this cost-of-living crisis is a clear priority for this Government.

“Socioeconomic inequalities drive health inequalities. The Scottish Government has taken many actions to provide support on the cost crisis such as mitigating UK government policies such as the two-child cap and bedroom tax, and maintaining investment in the Scottish Welfare Fund at £41m for the 2023-24 year.

“We continue to work across government and with key partners to look at what else can be done to support people facing issues as a result of the cost crisis.”