Posted 20 February 2018 - 15:19
Posted 20 February 2018 - 15:19
News
People with disabilities spend £570 a month related to their condition, report says
People with disabilities spend an average £570 a month related to their impairment or condition, according to a report by the disability charity Scope
People with disabilities spend an average £570 a month related to their impairment or condition and are unable to afford the same standard of living as those without, a charity says.
After housing costs have been met, on average almost half of their remaining income is spent on disability-related costs, disability charity Scope said in a report called the Disability Price Tag. This is despite the personal independence payment, the benefit designed to counteract such extra costs.
Costs faced by some of the 13.3 million people with disabilities in the UK can include a powered wheelchair, adaptive clothing, greater consumption of energy or more costly insurance premiums.
Personal independence
Scope says £100 for a non-disabled person is equivalent to just £67 for a disabled person. For one in five people with disabilities, extra costs can add up to more than £1,000 a month.
The charity is calling on the government to reform the assessment for personal independence payments so that people with disabilities get the right level of support to help with extra costs.
‘Life costs more if you are disabled,’ said Scope chief executive Mark Atkinson. ‘We need a complete rethink on how we tackle this issue and how government, businesses, markets and the public work and interact with disabled people.’
Minister for disabled people, health and work Sarah Newton said: ‘We introduced personal independence payments to replace the old system, and now 29% of people receive the highest rate of support, compared with 15% under disability living allowance.’
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