£150 disability payment won’t last a week

Lorna Fillingham says rocketing energy bills are particularly tough on the families of disabled people who often have lower incomes but use much more gas and electricity.

Lorna, 50, from Scunthorpe, North Lincs, gave up her job as a nurse in 2014 to work as an unpaid carer for young daughter Emily-May, 12, who has a rare genetic condition.

“I get Carer’s Allowance of just £69.70 a week, while my daughter gets Disability Living Allowance, but that hasn’t kept up with rising prices. We’re lucky my partner works. Others have it much worse.”

Lorna says they cannot do anything more to cut electricity consumption even after the energy cap shoots up in October.

Emily-May has physical and learning disabilities ,and uses a tablet to communicate, which they need to keep charged constantly. “Many appointments are virtual, so again, we rely on the tablet for those.”

The nearest children’s hospital is in Sheffield, which entails an 80-mile round-trip, adding to petrol costs. “Emily-May is a wheelchair user and the nearest park with equipment she can actually use is four miles away, which again means more fuel.”

Her condition increases washing machine usage, too. “We have to do one or two loads every day, because she suffers from reflux, and clothes and bedding often need changing.”

Millions face a choice of eating or heating, but Lorna says disabled people often face an even starker decision.

“They often need to use equipment like nebulisers, hoists, airflow mattresses, and non-invasive ventilators, all of which involve energy use. Going without could be a matter of life and death. Plus there is the cost of staying warm at home.”

Lorna says people urgently need more government support.

“The cost-of-living crisis is harming people right now and we need to see more action,” she says.