Brits claiming DWP disability benefits issued £1,122 cost of living warning

02 May 2023 , 13:37

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Scope warns that more disabled people will fall into poverty because of the rising cost of living (Image: Getty Images)

A cost of living warning has been issued to millions of people who claim Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) benefits such as Personal Independence Payment (PIP) and Disability Living Allowance (DLA).

Those who are disabled have been found to be paying an average of £975 more per month than 2019 a report by Scope has found.

This is a rise of £330 over the last three years.

If this is updated to take into account the current inflation rate - these extra costs rise to £1,122 every month.

This means disabled households need to find an extra £12,000 a year to achieve the same standard of living compared to non-disabled households.

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The Disability Price Tag report by Scope found that having a disability takes up around 63% of a disabled person's income after housing costs.

The average extra costs rise to £1,248 per month when there are two disabled adults in the household and at least two children.

For households with one disabled adult, one non-disabled adult and at least one child, the average extra cost is £634.

The charity says the additional essential expenditure is driven by:

• The higher cost of buying specialist equipment including wheelchairs, hoists, and home adaptations
• Greater use of everyday essentials such as energy because people may be housebound and have medical issues that require constant warmth
• Paying over the odds for taxis because of often inaccessible public transport, insurance and dietary requirements

Scope says these figures do take into account disability benefit payments such as PIP, however, the charity claims that the current welfare system for disabled Brits "isn't providing adequate levels of financial support."

James Taylor, executive director of social change at Scope, said: "We have known for a long time that life costs more if you are disabled. The current cost of living crisis and dizzying price rises for food, drink and energy has only exacerbated the financial challenges faced by disabled households.

"Disabled households are almost £1,000 worse off a month than non-disabled households as a result of the extra cost of disability. And this is after taking benefit payments into account, like PIP.

"Growing numbers of disabled households are falling into poverty as a result of trying to meet their extra costs. Scope's helplines are inundated. We're talking to people who are sitting in the dark, eating one meal a day and don’t know which way to turn."

The disability charity had called on the Government to make the issue to become a "political priority" as more disabled people are falling into poverty.

Scope highlighted that it had seen examples of disabled people cutting back on showering and only eating cold meals and some who hadn't eaten for over three days over the recent months.

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It claims that the current financial support system for disabled Brits is a "falling system" and urgent action needs to be taken - particularly as the cost of living crisis continues.

In the UK, around four million people are claiming the disability benefits PIP or DLA and a further 1.5million claim Attendance Allowance which is a disability benefit for those over the state pension age.

Disabled people who are claiming certain benefits are going to receive a one off payment of £150 to help with the rising cost of living - just like they did in September last year.

The payment date for the cash has not been confirmed by the DWP.

However, the money is significantly less than the £900 other means-tested benefit recipients are going to get over the next year.

With the payment last year, 80% of disabled people said it would not be enough to cover their increased cost of essentials.

A Government spokesperson said: “We recognise disabled people face extra costs which is why we are making an extra £150 disability support payment, on top of £900 of cost of living help for those on means-tested benefits and a 10.1% increase to disability benefit - having saved the typical household around £1,300 on energy bills over the winter.

“Our welfare system provides a strong safety net for disabled people through benefits such as Personal Independence Payment, Disability Living Allowance and Attendance Allowance.”

Ruby Flanagan