Cost of Living: Impact on People with a Disability

Work and Pensions – in the House of Commons on 23 January 2023.

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Photo of Peter Aldous Peter Aldous Conservative, Waveney

What steps he is taking to help tackle the disproportionate impact of the cost of living crisis on people with a disability.

Photo of Tom Pursglove Tom Pursglove The Minister of State, Department for Work and Pensions

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.

Photo of Peter Aldous Peter Aldous Conservative, Waveney

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 Peter Dowd and my right hon. Friend 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?

Photo of Tom Pursglove Tom Pursglove The Minister of State, Department for Work and Pensions

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.