£150 Disability Cost of Living payment not enough to avoid a crisis this winter says Milton Keynes charity

It fears thousands of disabled people will fall into poverty
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The £150 disability Cost of Living payment, being paid from this week, will result in thousands of disabled people falling into poverty this winter, according to the Spinal Injuries Association.

The Milton Keynes based charity has been inundated with calls to its support line from spinal cord injured people who are worried about their additional costs this winter.

Nik Hartley, chief executive of Spinal Injuries Association, said: “Many are struggling to cope with the hidden additional energy costs they face such as heating and charging equipment, as well as often having additional outgoings such as large care costs, house adaptations and increased transport costs.”

The £150 Cost of Living payment for the disabled is not enough, says Mk charityThe £150 Cost of Living payment for the disabled is not enough, says Mk charity
The £150 Cost of Living payment for the disabled is not enough, says Mk charity

A spokesman for the association explained a spinal cord injury can mean many sufferers are unable to regulate their body temperature so additional power is required to maintain warmth.

In such cases, it can be a real danger to health to turn the heating down to save on bills. The recent announcement of an energy price cap freeze does little to help as the cap is now double what it was last winter. On top of that inflation is soaring.

When it comes to government help, those who are only in receipt of personal independence payments or disability living allowance are being offered a £150 payment, instead of the £650 Cost of Living Payment offered to those who receive other forms of social security. This is despite their additional needs.

Mr Hartley added: "Without greater intervention many with spinal cord injuries will simply not be able to afford to pay their bills throughout this winter which could compromise their health leading to dangerous consequences.

"Until action is taken the limited support available is disproportionate to the majority of disabled people’s needs. We fully support the idea of discounted energy tariffs for disabled customers and call on the government to meet with the energy providers and implement this initiative as soon as possible."

> Six million people who are paid certain disability benefits began receiving a one-off payment of £150 from Tuesday.

Payments are part of the government’s wider £37 billion support package, including the Energy Price Guarantee and cost of living payments totalling £650.