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"Tis not
enough to help the feeble up ...
But to support him after" Timon of Athens.
The Every Disabled Child
Matters campaign has added its voice to national charity
Contact a Family’s call on government to give families with disabled
children a winter fuel allowance, which would match
that currently paid to pensioners.
Two thirds of
families with disabled children struggle to pay their fuel bills in
wintertime. And 10 per cent have had their gas or
electricity supply cut off – either by their supplier
or because they couldn’t afford to top up a prepayment meter.
Research shows that UK families of disabled
children are among the poorest. It costs three times as
much to bring up a disabled child compared with other children, and
childcare costs for disabled children are up to five times
as much.
They are both 50 per cent more
likely to be in debt than other families, and 50 per cent less likely to
be able to afford essentials like new clothes or school outings.
Higher energy bills
in the winter are yet another cost that hits families with disabled
children disproportionately hard. Surveys show their yearly gas bill is
nearly £600, compared to £350 for other families. Many
conditions are made worse by the cold, or children may be more prone to
picking up infections, so the heating needs to be on for longer.
The government says it is
committed to halving child poverty by 2010 on the way to ending child
poverty by 2020. Reducing poverty amongst families with disabled
children must be part of this, and extending the winter fuel
allowance to them will help achieve this target.
Steve Broach, Campaign
Manager for EDCM comments
"We
are proposing that to begin with, the allowance is paid to families with
the most vulnerable disabled children – those aged
under 5 who are most likely to be at home and have difficulty moving
about to keep warm. The cost of this would be just £8 million
but make would make a huge difference to some 40,000 families."
Take action!
Ask your MP to support our call for a winter fuel allowance for families
with disabled children
www.edcm.org.uk/winterfuel
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disabledsouthwest.co.uk