‘The new UK government claims that “there is light at the end of the tunnel” well, shine it on disability, urgently.’

On October 1, gas and electricity prices in England, Scotland, and Wales increased by 10 percent, further exacerbating the cost-of-living crisis. The typical annual dual-fuel bill paid via direct debit will now reach £1,717.

For disabled individuals, energy is not just a utility, it is often essential for survival, powering life-saving equipment and enabling daily activities.  As Disability Rights UK notes, many of the households most afraid of this winter and wondering what to do now are disabled households.

The energy hike comes as the disability charity Scope updated its “Disability Price Tag” report, highlighting the increasing financial strain on people with disabilities.

The Disability Price Tag report was released at last week’s Labour Party conference. It reveals that the cost of living for a disabled person has risen again, from £975 a month to £1010, a £35 increase.

Scope first published figures on the extra costs faced by disabled people in 2018. Since then, the rising prices of essentials such as energy, food, and housing have driven more disabled individuals into  poverty.

Figures released by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) in January, showed that the proportion of families with disabled children living in poverty had risen by nearly a third in two years. Concurrently, the number of disabled people in employment has been increasing, being higher in the final quarter (October to December) of 2023 than in the final quarter of 2022, according to data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) Labour Force Survey.

Scope’s latest report involved interviews with 31 disabled households across Britain. Participants discussed how additional costs, ranging from food and heating to insurance and repairs for broken appliances, strain household budgets, leaving little room for savings or even basic weekly spending.

James Taylor, executive director of strategy, described the additional costs as having a “devastating impact on disabled people’s standard of living.”

“Disabled people have cut back on everything they can and are going without heating, turning off vital equipment and forgoing medical treatment. These sacrifices put their health at risk, and at worst are life-threatening. The rising cost of living has already pushed disabled people beyond breaking point,” he said.

Dan White, a member of the Disability Poverty Campaign Group and Policy and Campaigns Officer at Disability Rights UK, said the report’s findings as unsurprising yet shocking.

“With these shocking figures, surely the government has got to act and work with DPOs and disabled people, to better the living standards of the disabled community. The reports and statistics continue to mount, telling us the cost-of-living crisis is growing, and that disability poverty is getting deeper,” said White.

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