Scope calls for Government to act on extortionate cost of essentials facing disabled people.

• Scope’s new research shows disabled people are paying more for the basic essentials of food and warmth.
• Scope, together with 27 cross party MPs and peers, are calling for targeted support in the budget that will put more pounds in disabled people’s pockets.
• Millions of disabled people could be lifted out of poverty with an ‘essentials payment’ of £12 a week and discounted energy bills.

Scope, the disability equality charity, has today published ‘Life Costs More’ [1] a new report lifting the lid on the extra costs that disabled people face every day for just the basic essentials.

Scope commissioned the independent consultancy WPI Economics, to examine the spending patterns of 16,000 households over a 3-year period. The research looked at the cost of basic staples for living, such as food, utility payments and transport costs and found that disabled people are facing a premium.

Compared to non-disabled households, disabled households face an average additional burden of essentials of around £12 per week. This is equivalent to an additional £625 per year allocated to essentials. And for some households this spend could be as high as £1,040. This extra burden remains even after accounting for Personal Independence Payment (PIP).

The research also shows that disabled households have lower incomes and spend a greater proportion of their total budget on everyday essentials. After housing costs, disabled households have to allocate 48% of their total spending to essentials and low-income disabled households allocate 63% of their total spending to essentials.

The impact of these extra costs on the health, wellbeing, and quality of life of disabled people is devastating. 58% of all people in poverty are either disabled or live with a disabled person [2]. Disabled people cannot escape from high energy bills when there is medical equipment to power or avoid more expensive shopping bills because of specific diets or need to buy medication.

Scope found that to manage conditions and impairments, many disabled people have no choice but to spend more on essentials, getting into a circle of debt or face going without essentials putting their health at risk.

As the government prepares for the final budget before an election, Scope, together with 27 MPs and Peers (including Marion Fellows MP and Baroness Campbell) have written to the Prime Minister to call for:

1. the introduction of an ‘essentials payment’ of £12 a week to disabled people receiving PIP (Personal Independence Payment) or DLA (Disability Living Allowance). The charity calculates this would immediately lift 115,000 disabled people out of poverty, and deep poverty would fall by 80,000.
2. Discounted energy bills for disabled people – a consultation on a suitable scheme was promised by the government in November 2022, but has yet to materialise. A discounted energy bill scheme for disabled households would support over 2 million struggling with fuel poverty [3].

“Life has always cost more for disabled people. And far from getting better it is getting worse.

“As we go into the final budget before the election, disabled people have their backs against the wall. Our helpline is hearing from disabled people who are going days without eating, cutting back on prescriptions and using candles because they can’t afford to switch the lights on.

“Buying essentials is swallowing up ever more cash, and prices – particularly of the basics - continue to rise. Disabled people are being left isolated, desperate and forgotten.

“It’s time to act. On 6 March the Chancellor must use the Budget to put money in disabled people’s pockets.

“A first step would be an essentials payment of £12 per week. This would lift 115,000 disabled people receiving PIP or DLA out of poverty immediately. Further ahead, any political party wishing to form a government must commit to taking action and end the disability price tag once and for all.”

“The hospital is a bit far [for my mobility scooter], so you've got to pay out for taxis. And the blood tests are every three months, and then if I find that there's a pain somewhere else, the doctors want me to get another test. So, I just don't go to the doctor.” - Patrice, 60s, East of England

“I can't afford to leave [the lights] on, so I have to turn those off and then that means that I've had a couple of falls, because I can't see. I can't sleep and I'm constantly worried about how I'm going to make ends meet the next day or the next week and the next month, you know? And just this absolute feeling of helplessness.” – Charlie

“[Energy prices] have absolutely went through the roof compared to what you were paying before. But with a condition like cerebral palsy, you need to keep warm. So, you've got no real choice.” - Arun, 30s, North East England

“It's expensive to be disabled. It's very expensive. It's anything from the clothes you wear, to the products you need, to the food you put in your mouth.” - Adriana, 40s, Yorkshire and the Humber

"What many people call ‘convenience’ is actually vital for me to be able to manage. Groceries and food shopping I get deliveries as well, because going to the shops is [not possible]. Everything I get is online ordering, because I don't have time, energy or capacity to go out to the shops. So, it becomes a necessity rather than a disposable cost.” - Nathaniel, 30s, North West England

Naomi Gilchrist, 30, from Lincolnshire has ME and Ehlers Danlos Syndrome, said:

“It all adds up, day after day, week after week. Living costs more for disabled people, getting the basics costs more and that makes much more difficult than they need to be.

“I have medication that needs refrigeration, extra laundry and tumble drying, higher food bills due to allergies, and I have to pay for a cleaner, aids and equipment, adapted cutlery and knives.

“This list also includes oral syringes and caps, and a medical bed and mattress that I need to power. I’m not surprised that disabled people have to spend more on essentials.

“Our PIP payments are stretched beyond their limits. I have to make a contribution to my care from PIP when it doesn’t even cover the basics.

“It’s time that more politicians truly understood the situation many disabled people are in, and that we need to be able to live our lives with dignity.”

References

[1] Scope, Life Costs More, 2024

[2] Social Metric Commission (2023) Measuring Poverty 2023 Social Metric Commission Report 2023

[3] Age UK February 2024 – discounted energy bills would have lifted over 2 million people out of fuel poverty this winter