Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps she is taking to ensure that children with disabilities and their families have sufficient financial support to help (a) power medical equipment, (b) heat their home and (c) have nutritious food.

The government understands the pressures people are facing with the cost of living, including disabled children and young adults. Children and young adults with a long-term health condition or disability can be entitled to up to £156.90 a week, tax free, as a contribution to the wide range of extra costs they face through either Disability Living Allowance (DLA) or Personal Independence Payment (PIP). These benefits are not means tested, paid in addition to other social security benefits and can also provide a passport to additional support such as premiums and additional amounts in the means tested benefits.

An informal carer, such as a parent or guardian, providing 35 hours or more care a week to a child or adult in receipt of the middle or highest rate care component of DLA or the daily living component of PIP can also be entitled to financial support through Carer’s Allowance (CA). The Secretary of State has an annual statutory duty to review benefits and State Pensions rates, including the rates for CA, DLA and PIP. That review has commenced following the publication of the relevant indices by the Office for National Statistics. The Secretary of State’s decisions will be announced shortly.

Should a household need additional support with day-to-day costs, such as food, they may be entitled to claim a means tested benefit such as Universal Credit.

In addition, the Government has taken further, decisive action to support people with their energy bills. The Energy Price Guarantee is supporting millions of households with rising energy costs, and the Chancellor made clear it will continue to do so from now until April next year. This is in addition to the over £37bn of cost of living support announced earlier this year which includes:

• a Disability Cost of Living Payment of £150 to six million people in recognition of the extra costs they face, including with energy costs;
• up to £650 in Cost of Living Payments for the eight million households in receipt of a means-tested benefit; and
• the £400 non-repayable discount to eligible households provided through the Energy Bills Support Scheme.