Peter Aldous highlights the higher heating costs for disabled people as they are invariably less mobile and spend longer in their home and asks what the Government are doing to help those with a disability to bridge that funding gap.
Cost of Living: Impact on People with a Disability
Peter Aldous (Waveney) (Con)
16. What steps he is taking to help tackle the disproportionate impact of the cost of living crisis on people with a disability. (903202)
The Minister for Disabled People, Health and Work (Tom Pursglove)
As I said earlier, six million people receiving an eligible disability benefit received a £150 disability cost of living payment last year and will receive a further £150 cost of living payment later this year. This is in addition to other Government support, such as up to £900 for those on a qualifying means-tested benefit.
Peter Aldous
The £150 disability cost of living payment is indeed welcome, but those living with a disability spend more on heating costs, as they are invariably less mobile and spend longer, if not the whole day, in their home. As the hon. Member for Bootle (Peter Dowd) and my right hon. Friend the Member for Bexleyheath and Crayford (Sir David Evennett) have mentioned, Parkinson’s UK estimates that additional cost at £1,200. Will my hon. Friend set out what the Government are doing to provide advice and help those with a disability to bridge that funding gap?
Tom Pursglove
I can certainly extend the offer to my hon. Friend to join the meeting that I agreed to in an earlier exchange. I am keen to have his insight and input on this issue. It is important to set that £150 payment in the context of a wider package of support that has been provided: the £900 cost of living payment; the £300 pensioner payment; and the support that has been provided through the energy price guarantee, as well as discretionary support. It is right, particularly with reform in the offing from April 2024 around energy support, that we look at this issue in the round.