Families with disabled children missing meals to make ends meet

The survey of more than 2,300 families by charity Contact a Family found of those in paid employment, one in six is going without food and more than one in five is going without heating because they cannot afford it.

In households where no-one works due to their caring responsibilities, almost a quarter are going without food and a third without heating.

Families with disabled children highlighted a lack of understanding in society about the considerable extra and ongoing costs of raising a disabled child, including childcare, which leaves them having to justify themselves as being ‘disabled’ or ‘worthy enough’ to claim benefits.

According to Contact a Family, to buy a sensory wooden toy for a disabled child it would cost £1,000, whereas wooden blocks in a wagon toy for a non-disabled child cost £16.99. For a disabled child, a specialist mouse for a computer is £200, as opposed to £20 for a mouse for a non-disabled child.

Asked about the changes to the benefit, some families said they had already been affected, while others claimed they were extremely distressed about having to make further cut backs when the impact of the welfare reforms hit.

Families also reported being confused about the changes to the benefit system, which they said is adding unnecessary additional strain. The survey, Counting the Costs 2012, also asked families how the government cut of £26 to additional disability payments for children, paid as part of a means-tested benefit and tax credits, would affect them. The cut to the benefit will be made from October 2013 with the introduction of the Universal Credit.

Most families where no-one in the household worked or received high rate care Disability Living Allowance cited food as one of the things they could go without as there was nothing else left to cut back on. This is despite families already going without one or two meals a week.

Cutting back further on heating was commonly cited by parents as a possible option to save money, as was selling their car because of the rising costs of petrol, which they felt would make them more isolated and would prevent them from going to school or getting to appointments.

Stopping extra-curricular activities for disabled and non disabled children was also an option given by some parent carers.

In light of the findings, Contact a Family is calling for:

• at least current levels of financial support through disability additions via the Universal Credit to all families with disabled children;

• the review of the disability additions policy which Lord Freud, Minister for Welfare Reform committed to undertake in 2015;

• energy companies to join the Warm House Discount scheme and guarantee an automatic £120 payment to any child in receipt of the Disability Living Allowance;

• frontline professionals and the voluntary sector to be proactive about signposting parent carers to specialist benefits, debt advice services and other sources of specialist parenting support.

The charity is also urging people to take action by writing to their MP and/or local councillors to call for families with disabled children to be exempt from cuts to vital financial support.

Srabani Sen, chief executive of Contact a Family, said, ‘There is an opportunity for the Government to make the financial situation of families with disabled children better. We strongly urge them to use the opportunity to improve the financial misery these families are dealing with every day. Families with disabled children contribute a huge amount to the economy by working and caring, saving the NHS and social services billions each year. Our research shows that it’s vital more is done to help those caring for a disabled child.’