‘WE NEED PAYMENTS NOW... IT’S GOING TO BE A COLD WINTER’
A BENEFIT recipient from Stoke-on-trent facing a “dark” Christmas due to tightened finances has said he fears rises unveiled in the Autumn Statement will come “too late”. Chancellor Jeremy Hunt has pledged a costof-living payment of £900 to households on means-tested benefits and £150 for individuals on disability benefit.
He also plans to raise disability and workingage benefits by 10.1%, in line with September inflation, in April next year.
The announcement of help has been welcomed but many feel the April rise needs to be brought forward.
Jason Alcock, aged 51, a disabled widower who was forced to sell his dead wife’s possessions to cover his living costs in recent years, said he “should be eligible” for both payments and the working-age benefit increase, but is unsure of when to expect them and scrutinised the delay to the 10.1% benefits rise.
“We need it now,” said Mr Alcock, from Stokeon-trent. “We’re going to have a really cold winter and people are going to die because they’re not going to turn on their heating. “I’m living in one room upstairs because the heat rises… that’s the only room I’m heating.” Mr Alcock has autism, ADHD and bipolar disorder, and uses technology, including virtual reality, to communicate from his home. With costs increasing, it is becoming more challenging for him to continue running the electronics he uses in his home, which he pays for with his income from a Personal Independence Payment (PIP), Employment
Support Allowance (ESA) and a severe disability premium.
His wife Paola died in 2018 after being diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia, and he was forced to sell many of her belongings “to survive”.
While Mr Alcock welcomed any form of support from the Government, he added that the cost-of-living crisis is affecting more than just vulnerable people.
“The problem is this is affecting not just people on benefits now, it’s affecting everyone unless you’ve got a lot of money,” Mr Alcock said. “Christmas is going to be a really dark time this year. I’m wearing extra clothing, which is another thing that I haven’t had to do in the past – it’s very unusual, this complete change of the way you live.”