Study finds a third of disabled people have to cancel Christmas because they can’t afford it
A third of disabled people will be forced to cancel Christmas this year, as they struggle to cope with unbearable costs. That’s according to grim new research by the national disability charity, Sense, who are urgently calling for more financial support to help the most vulnerable households this winter.
Spiraling costs have put more than half of disabled people into debt, and two thirds say they are constantly worried about bills. Now, as the country looks forward to the Christmas holidays, many disabled people say they won’t be able to celebrate.
A third of disabled people told Sense that they will not celebrate Christmas this year because of the financial pressures they face. More than a third said they will not see any friends or family or buy any festive food. Almost half said they won’t buy any presents, while two in five will not turn on any festive lights because of fears around the cost of energy.
Keith Butler, 72, and his partner Helen Butler, 64, live in Redditch, Worcestershire, and are full-time carers for their 22-year-old son Geordie. Geordie has CHARGE syndrome, is deafblind and autistic.
Their income, made up of Keith’s pension and Geordie’s Universal Credit, is limited and they face spiralling costs. The biggest is energy, with additional use related to Geordie’s needs, including Geordie’s feeding pump and electric bed to help him lie down. Other costs include transport.
Geordie recently completed his education, meaning his transport is no longer subsidised and his parents pay £2,250 a year to get him to day services at Sense Touchbase Pears in Birmingham.
Sense supports people living with complex disabilities, whom the research focuses on. There are 1.6 million people with complex disabilities in the UK, living with two or more disabilities, and requiring high levels of support. Sense has already provided direct financial support to some of the most vulnerable households, worth a total of half a million pounds.
The research reveals the measures disabled households are taking to save money, with more than half turning the heating down or off, more than a third skipping meals and almost a quarter (24 per cent) turning to food banks.
Sense is calling for emergency targeted financial support now to help the most at risk households cope with spiraling costs, and a plan to support disabled people and their families in the long-term.
Richard Kramer, Chief Executive of Sense, said: “With disabled people living in debt and worrying about the next bill, it shouldn’t be a surprise that so many are cancelling Christmas plans. And yet, today’s research is a timely reminder of what some of the most vulnerable households in the country are going through.
“Every day, disabled people are having to make impossible choices, like whether to eat or heat the home. And Christmas, far from being a time for celebration, has just become an additional, unbearable expense. It doesn’t have to be like this. The government must act now to bring in targeted financial support to those who need it over the winter.”
More than 80,000 people have signed Sense’s petition calling on the government to do more to support disabled people through the cost-of-living crisis.
