Disabled living costs

Disabled people who rely on state benefits or work for the national minimum wage have weekly incomes that are far below the amount they need for an acceptable quality of life, according to research for the Joseph Rowntree Foundation.

And for those who solely depend on benefits, the deficit between the payments they receive and the minimum sum required is £200 a week or more.

Stakeholder Response: Joseph Rowntree Foundation

Noel Smith, a research fellow at the centre for research in social policy at Loughborough University and co-author of the study, said: "Official statistics show that 30 per cent of disabled people are in poverty but these figures are based on income and don’t take into account the additional costs of disability.

"Our research highlights just how substantial these additional costs are and so it clearly shows that the extent of poverty among disabled people is seriously under-estimated.

"Even maximum benefit levels fall well short of meeting the true costs of disability; and it is equally clear that many disabled people in paid work cannot achieve the income required to meet their needs either.

"Much could be achieved if society was prepared to fund the sort of improved support services that would reduce costs that currently fall on individuals.

"But disabled people also need more income so they can achieve an acceptable quality of life and come closer to achieving a ‘level playing field’ with non-disabled people."

Stakeholder Response: Disabilities Trust

Matt Townsend of the Disabilities Trust said: "It's no surprise to find the results of this Joseph Rowntree Foundation report graphically illustrates how disabled people's lives are often profoundly constrained by the additional costs of living that disabilities can entail.

 

"While this level of additional cost will obviously vary with the impairment or impairments an individual experiences, nevertheless it is apparent that for many disabled people relying on state benefits presents them with huge financial difficulties. 

 

"Of course many disabled people don't want to rely on benefits anyway and this report also underlines once again just how important a decent job is if disabled people are to escape the poverty trap. 

 

"In addition transport costs are as usual a major factor in placing constraints on disabled people's access to the jobs market, their freedom and life opportunities generally and the Disabilities Trust hopes that when the government publishes the long awaited Discrimination Bill in this session, it will address the fundamental problems of access to affordable transport."

 

Stakeholder Response: Royal National Institute of the Blind

 

Steve Winyard, head of public policy at RNIB said: "RNIB very much welcomes this research to uncover the extra costs of living faced by people with disabilities and in particular the unmet costs.  In fact the feedback RNIB receives from blind and partially sighted people is that their costs are actually higher than the budgets developed by the focus groups, especially with regards to mobility and communication. 

 

"We are often told by people with sight problems that they don't leave their own home unless they have a guide with them, that they have to rely on expensive taxi journeys to get to the doctors and to do their weekly shopping. This leaves them without money to visit friends and family, attend social clubs and evening classes or go on holidays.  Communicating also requires expensive extra costs - for example a CCTV to read text and accessible computers - equipment most people with sight problems cannot afford.  These extra unmet costs mean that many people with sight problems are isolated, socially excluded and are far from able to lead their lives on level terms with non-disabled people

 

"RNIB would welcome further research looking at the extra costs of living with a sight problem - ideally using larger samples."