A report in the Guardian about social care observes that rising English social care costs force many disabled people into debt.
“Regulations are meant to ensure local authorities leave disabled people with a set amount of money to live off once their social care charges have been paid – known as the minimum income guarantee (MIG). The government agreed to bring the MIG in line with inflation in February after years of freezes.
But charities and Disabled People’s Organisations (DPOs) say some councils are failing to take into account recent hikes in energy bills and rent in their calculations, while others aren’t recognising the additional expenses disabled people face, such as accessible transport and specialist food, which have also become more expensive with inflation.”
Svetlana Kotova, director of campaigns at Inclusion London says
“Thousands of disabled people are pursued for social care debt, including through the courts, which they don’t have the money to pay. Making disabled people pay for the care they need is effectively a tax on disability.”
Claire Glasman, co-ordinator of WinVisible, a DPO for disabled women, warns that care charges are making disabled women more vulnerable to abuse by partners or family as they’re forced to become financially dependent on them.
Read the full Guardian Article.
