A charity is calling on Chancellor Jeremy Hunt to increase financial support for families with disabled children by £15 per month to help them during the ongoing cost of living crisis. Guide Dogs recently handed in an open letter directly to 11 Downing Street ahead of next week’s Spring Statement urging the UK Government to help families with disabled children.
The proposal, which would see the additional support added to eligible benefits including Universal Credit and Child Tax Credit, has been backed by five other charities, over 20 political figures and 2,653 members of the public.
New research by Guide Dogs indicates the cost of living crisis is having a disproportionate impact on families with visually impaired children. The report reveals parents and guardians of vision impaired children are more worried about being able to pay their energy and utility bills and cover the cost of fuel compared with families with non-disabled children.
Guide Dogs ‘Out of Pocket’ report studied how the cost of living crisis is impacting families with a vision impaired child.
Millions of households across the country are dealing with the ongoing challenges of soaring energy bills, double-digit inflation and ever-increasing prices in the supermarket. However, Guide Dogs research found that families of vision impaired children have additional costs due to their specific needs, which other families do not face.
While most families access disability related benefits, only a fifth (22%) said these benefits are sufficient to cover the extra costs incurred. As a result, parents’ mental health is suffering as they are forced to make difficult decisions.
The survey revealed that families of vision impaired children have to pay greater energy and fuel costs relating to their child’s disability.
Higher energy bills
The study found families with a disabled child need to keep lights on for longer to make homes as accessible and safe as possible.
Additionally, children with complex needs can require vital medical equipment running through the day and night.
One parent of a child with visual impairment said: “We have to keep lights on longer in the winter so he can see the stairs and the hallway and the heating on as his muscles hurt more in the winter so he can’t get cold.”
Another parent commented: “My son is unable to regulate his temperature so in the winter we have to have the heating on more and in the summer the fans are used more.
“Also due to him having chorioretinopathy the lights are kept on more in the winter even during the day when it’s overcast as he struggles to see. I think the approximate cost per year would be an extra £400.”
Extra fuel costs
The study found that families of vision impaired children are more dependent on their cars due to needing to travel further to attend school and more frequent medical appointments.
Commenting on the report, Helen Honstvet, Senior Policy, Public Affairs and Campaigns Manager at Guide Dogs, said: “The [UK] Government needs to take the opportunity of the Budget to provide more targeted support to families with vision impaired and disabled children.
“Families are experiencing significant hardship today, with many having to make tough decisions about where to save money. Many of the additional financial costs that families are facing come from systems that are not supporting and including children with a vision impairment in the way they should.”
You can read the full ‘Out Of Pocket’ report from Guide Dogs online here.
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