50,000 people set for cost-of-living payment

Those eligible will get their cash before the end of October...

ALMOST 50,000 residents on disability benefits across Barnsley are set to receive £150 from the government this week to tackle the cost-of-living crisis, the Chronicle can reveal.

People with disabilities are facing some of the worst impacts of the current cost-of-living crisis – which has forced residents to make excruciating decisions including whether to heat their homes or put food on the table.

The Department of Work and Pensions estimates almost 50,000 people living in Barnsley’s four constituencies will be able to receive the payment – with the government stating the vast majority should have received it by the start of October.

Residents eligible for this payment include those who on May 25 were receiving disability living allowance, personal independence payment, attendance allowance, armed forces independence payment, constant attendance allowance, or the war pension mobility supplement.

Those who already receive a qualifying disability benefit will be paid automatically.

Wentworth and Dearne has the most residents on disability benefits with approximately 13,900, Barnsley East has the second most with 13,000, then Barnsley Central with 12,000 and Penistone and Stocksbridge has just 9,200 claimants.

Chloe Smith, the Work and Pensions secretary, said: “We know disabled people face additional costs, and this government is listening and taking decisive action to protect the most vulnerable in our society.

“This multi-billion-pound package of support reinforces our commitment to help UK households, particularly those with disability challenges, through the tough times ahead.”

The payment comes after new Prime Minister Liz Truss froze energy bills at £2,500 for the next two years in a bid to ease pressures on struggling families.

But disability charity Scope has said the £150 payment ‘won’t touch the sides’ for many living with disabilities – and at the very least would need to be doubled.

The charity’s director of strategy James Taylor said they had been ‘inundated’ with calls from disabled people wondering how to keep warm this winter, even with the new price freeze.

He warned the soaring cost of energy could have a ‘devastating impact’ on the health of people with disabilities if they are forced to keep the heating off.

He added: “We know there are many disabled people who have been struggling over the past 12-or-so months and have been making really difficult choices about whether to heat their home or feed their families.”

Edel Harris, chief executive of Mencap, said the payment just ‘doesn’t go far enough’.

She added: “How will people with a learning disability be able to afford the increase in bills regardless of this new support?

“The measures currently in place will not be enough to support them through the coming months.”

This week’s payment is separate to the £650 cost-of-living payment, the first instalment of which landed in residents’ bank accounts over the summer.

More than 50,000 people in Barnsley were eligible for that – almost 16,000 in Wentworth and Dearne, more than 14,700 in Barnsley East, just under 14,000 in Barnsley Central and 4,200 in Penistone and Stocksbridge.

Those who were eligible for that payment include those on Universal Credit, Jobseeker’s Allowance and those receiving child tax credits.