Budget 2023 - what does it mean for you?

Today on Wednesday 15 March, Jeremy Hunt, the Chancellor of Exchequer, announced the government’s 2023 Spring Budget.  

There were a number of announcements that are relevant for the Huntington’s disease community, including:

• The Energy Price Guarantee is to remain at £2,500 for the next 3 months, meaning energy bills will remain at current levels
• The 4 million on households prepayment meters will be charged the same as those on direct debits with energy companies 
• Benefits are being uprated (increased) in line with inflation
• A white paper is being published today on disability benefits, including plans to abolish the work capability assessment and to separate benefits entitlement from an individual’s ability to work - as a result, disabled benefit claimants will always be able to seek work without fear of losing financial support
• There will be a new, voluntary employment scheme for disabled people where the government will spend up to £4,000 per person to help them find appropriate jobs and put in place the support they need. It will fund 50,000 places every single year
• The allocation of £400m in funding to increase the availability of mental health and musculoskeletal resources for workers

Cath Stanley, Chief Executive said,

We really welcome the increasing of benefits to reflect inflation and the support with energy costs to continue. It is disappointing that there is no increase in funding for health and social care and means the postcode lottery of care and support people receive will still remain."

Money Saving Expert campaign

The Huntington's Disease Association are proud to have joined the 100+ organisations that signed up to the Money Saving Experts campaign led by Martin Lewis to continue to freeze energy bills. This is particularly important for people living with Huntington’s disease, as household incomes tend to be lower and energy usage tends to be higher, due to symptoms of the condition.

We are also pleased that the government listened to dozens of charities to uprate benefits in line with inflation. This is something we have been campaigning on for months. This is critical for members of the Huntington’s disease community because many of those with the disease rely on benefits as an income and sky-high inflation levels have been making it a challenge to make ends meet.

While we welcome action taken to tackle the impact of the cost of living crisis for people living with Huntington’s disease, we are disappointed to not see increased funding for health and social care. This is particularly important for our community as there is a postcode lottery of services across the country, with unequal access to vital services, including mental health services. 

We will continue to campaign for increased support during the cost of living crisis, including keeping energy bill levels at their current rates and the increase to funding to the NHS and social care services that the sectors desperately need.