Huntington's Disease Association

On this page, we have put together information about the cost of living increase including resources that will help you find more information.

Cost of Living Support Package

The Government has announced a series of one-off measures to help households with the high cost of energy this winter, as well as a windfall tax on oil and gas companies to raise £5bn.

A number of support payments:

Exact payment windows will be announced closer to the time, but are spread across a longer period to ensure a consistent support offering throughout the year. They will be broadly as follows:

£301 – First Cost of Living Payment – during Spring 2023
£150 – Disability Payment – during Summer 2023
£300 – Second Cost of Living Payment – during Autumn 2023
£300 – Pensioner Payment – during Winter 2023/4
£299 – Third Cost of Living Payment – during Spring 2024

Click on the link to read the Home Energy checklist produced by the National Energy Action charity.

The Citizens Advice Bureau has put together a Get help with the cost of living area page on their website.

Energy

The government announced in the Spring budget ( March 2023):

The Energy Price Guarantee is to remain at £2,500 for the next 3 months, meaning energy bills will remain at current levels

What does it mean?

The prices you can be charged for Gas and Electricity have been changed, and the cap that kept them at a specific price has gone up, meaning you will pay more for the cost of the energy you use.

The charity National Energy Action has put together a handy document to help guide you through the financial help available and practical steps you can take to help keep your home feeling warmer this winter.

Find out more

Energy support grants
You may be entitled to free solar panels, a free central heating system and money off the cost of insulating your home, all under the government-backed ECO4 scheme.

Find out more

Help with bills
Citizens Advice, Energy UK and Ofgem have produced a document which covers all of the above information that you can download and share.

Find out more

Council tax discounts

Some people in the community might be able to apply for a discount on your Council Tax bill if you or someone you live with is severely mentally impaired.

You’ll need to:

get a certificate to say you’re severely mentally impaired from a medical professional, such as your GP
prove your eligibility for certain benefits -

check with your local council

If you qualify as severely mentally impaired

You’ll get a 100% discount if you qualify as severely mentally impaired and one of the following applies:

you live on your own
any other adults in your household either qualify as severely mentally impaired or are full-time students

There’ll be a 50% discount on the council tax bill if everyone else in your household is ‘disregarded’.

If you live with someone who is severely mentally impaired

You’ll get a 25% discount if you live with someone who qualifies as severely mentally impaired and either:

there are no other adults in your household
everyone else in your home is disregarded

How to apply

Check if you qualify for a Council Tax discount

Additional support

Family

This website details where Kids can eat free during School holidays.

Find out more

Get help to buy food and milk

If you’re more than 10 weeks pregnant or have a child under 4, you may be entitled to get help to buy healthy food and milk.

You can get Healthy Start vouchers if you’re at least 10 weeks pregnant or have a child under four years old. If your child is under one, you’ll receive two £4.25 vouchers weekly
on your card. If your child is 1-4 years old, you will receive one £4.25 voucher per week. To get help buying food and milk you need to apply online for a Healthy Start card at www.healthystart.nhs.uk
Vouchers worth up to £8.50 will be available on the card every week to spend on milk, fruit and veg, tinned/dried pulses and infant formula.

Download the healthy start voucher

Help with making decisions

Money Saving Expert is a website run by Martin Lewis. The website Money Saving Expert offers lots of handy tips and money savings ideas. He also advises on what different tariffs may mean for you.

The website has a calculator to give you a rough idea of how much you'll pay from October for your Gas and Electricity, this calculator currently only works if you pay by direct debit.

Access the 'What you'll pay after the price cap rises in October 2022 calculator' on the Money Saving Expert website.

There is also a calculator that will help you decide whether to take on a fixed deal tariff if you have been offered one.

Find out more

Cost of Living information

Scope charity are offering in-depth support to people with disabilities regarding the cost of living crisis.

Find out more

There is some information on comparison price tools you can use to make sure you are getting the best deals available to you and how to save money online.

Find out more

Hub of Hope

This website helps you find support that's right for you.

Find out more

Community Grocery

Suppliers provide Community Grocery with redistributed surplus food, including fresh fruit and vegetables, as well as packaged and canned goods. Members can come and shop for their whole family at the grocery giving them access to food for less and helping us all reduce food waste.

Check the location map to see if this is available in your area, a small membership fee applies.

Find out more

Financial Help

The getting financial help page on our website has information on what you are entitled to.

You can use the recommended tool called The TURN2US benefits calculator to check you are claiming all you can.

Access the benefits calculator.

The directory of social change has a page with links to other resources.

Priority Services Register

We’re encouraging parents of children with disabilities or who rely on medical equipment to sign up for the Priority Services Register ahead of possible power cuts this winter.

Contact your energy supplier directly to join their register. You will get priority support in an emergency — some may arrange heating and cooking facilities too.

Find out more

£150 Disability Cost of Living Payments

As of 20 September around six million disabled people in the UK will start to receive their one-off £150 Disability Cost of Living payment.

Those who had confirmed payment of their disability benefit for 25 May will receive the £150 automatically, with the vast majority to be paid by early October.

The payment will help disabled people with the rising cost of living, acknowledging the higher disability-related costs they often face, such as for care and mobility needs.

Data Poverty Lab

The National Databank is providing free data to 500,000 people in need via Good Things Foundation’s network of community partners, in partnership with Virgin Media O2, Vodafone and Three.

Find out more

Warm Hubs

Local areas are setting up a national Warm Hub network – a series of community venues providing a warm and friendly environment for people to meet over refreshments, find out how to keep warm for less and be signposted to other sources on invaluable advice.

These are the ones we know about but there will be more: