Responding to the Chancellor’s Spring Statement today (23 March), Business Disability Forum (BDF) has called for urgent Government action to address the impact of the rising cost of living on disabled people.
Business Disability Forum’s Head of Policy, Angela Matthews, said:
“We are disappointed that there was little in the Chancellor’s statement today to address the disproportionate impact of the rising cost of living on disabled people.
“Many disabled people experience higher living costs than non-disabled people simply because they have to spend more money to live near-equal lives. This has always included costs associated with medication, adaptions, and transport. Disabled people tell us that they are, now, also having to use their own money to get access to urgent procedures and treatments to ease pain, such as lymphatic drainage and physiotherapy.
“The rise in energy prices is also particularly affecting disabled people. People who rely on electrical provision twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, for breathing equipment, for example, are being bit hit hard by rising energy costs. The Government has already arranged financial support for some groups, but there has been no mention of this being matched for disabled people.
“BDF welcomed the commitment the Government made in July 2021 to create an Extra Costs Taskforce to review the costs incurred by disabled people. The Government has since said that it will launch the taskforce this summer. It is hoped that the taskforce will create a long term and sustainable approach to keeping the extra costs of being disabled down. But an immediate, short-term, response is needed – now.
“We are still waiting to see how disabled people will be involved in the Government’s ‘Levelling Up’ agenda announced in February. Addressing and meeting the extra costs which disabled people experience is non-negotiable if levelling up really is to be a reality for everyone. Disabled people literally cannot afford to wait any longer.”
