Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether she has had recent discussions with (a) officials in her Department and (b) Cabinet colleagues on the potential merits of a temporary uplift to disability benefits in order to support people with disabilities with the rising cost of living in the context of those people potentially having to power specialist machinery and equipment as a result of their needs.

I meet regularly with Ministers and officials from across Government to discuss a wide range of issues related to support for disabled people, including rising costs.

The government has announced a package of support to help households with rising energy bills, worth £9.1 billion in 2022-23. This includes:

• A £200 discount on their energy bill this Autumn for domestic electricity customers in Great Britain. This will be paid back automatically over the next 5 years.
• A £150 non-repayable Council Tax Rebate payment for all households that are liable for Council Tax in Bands A-D in England.
• £144 million of discretionary funding for Local Authorities to support households who need support but are not eligible for the Council Tax Rebate.