Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has engaged with disabled people on the cost of running medical equipment in the home.

The Secretary of State for Health and Social Care has not engaged with disabled people on this specific issue.

However, the Government stands committed to supporting disabled people medically dependent on electrical equipment in the face of rising energy costs. The Cabinet Office’s Disability Unit is seeking to understand and evidence the full impact of the current cost of living on disabled people, across a range of sectors. Moreover, the Government’s cost of living support package includes specific measures aimed at the most vulnerable, with £15 billion worth of support made available to those with the greatest need to date. Since 1 October, the ‘Energy Price Guarantee’ scheme has come into effect, limiting the amount that a typical household in Britain can be charged per unit of gas or electricity to an estimated annual bill of £2500. Furthermore, the Energy Bills Support Scheme deducts £400 from eligible households’ energy bills over winter 2022/2023.