Learning disability charity Mencap says an increase in guaranteed minimum left for living costs is “step in the right direction” for more than 150,000 adults living with disabilities
More than 150,000 adults with disabilities should have at least £400 a year extra to help with living costs under changes announced by the government.
It comes after ministers confirmed an above inflation 7% jump in the Minimum Income Guarantee for working age adults who receive social care. The MIG – as it is sometimes shortened to – applies to people who receive social care or other support provided by a local authority, other than in a care home.
Despite being essential, some people have to pay for some or all of their social care out of their disability benefits.
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Campaigners say the amount taken can leave those impacted with precious little for anything else, including food, clothes, energy and water bills, insurance and such like. Combined with years when the minimum did not go up with inflation and they say it left many in “real hardship.”
Under the Care Act 2014, any charges taken for social care must not reduce a person’s income below a certain amount. In the face of growing concerns, the Department for Health and Social Care has confirmed that the MIG will increase by 7% from April.
It claimed this would amount to the biggest above-inflation rise in the level set for working-age adults in more than a decade, who will keep at least £400 more each year. Those eligible for the disability premium, an additional amount for people with greater disability needs, will keep up to £510 more per year, it said.
In addition, the government also confirmed £723million worth of funding for the Disabled Facilities Grant next year to help older and disabled people adapt their homes so they can live safely and independently. Examples of what the grants can be used for include stairlifts and lifts, ramps and for widening doorways, and easier access showers and bathrooms.
The current statutory upper limit for the grant is £30,000, although local authorities have discretion to exceed limit where they consider it appropriate. The biggest single allocation of the new funding will be £124.3 million to councils in the North East, followed by £115 million in the South East, and almost £96 million to London.
Labour Care Minister Stephen Kinnock said:“We are determined to not only reform adult social care but do it in a way that helps some of the most vulnerable people in society with the daily pressures they face. From April, more than 150,000 disabled adults will keep hundreds of pounds more each year – putting extra money back into their pockets to help with everyday costs. At the same time, we are putting more money into funding life-changing home adaptations so older and disabled people can live safely and independently. These steps are part of our wider plans to build a National Care Service rooted in quality, fairness and dignity for all that use it.”
Jon Sparkes, chief executive of learning disabilities charity Mencap, said “The government’s decision to uprate the Minimum Income Guarantee for working age disabled adults accessing social care by 7% is good news. We are pleased that ministers have listened to people with a learning disability about how social care charging impacts upon their household costs and overall wellbeing.
“Mencap has campaigned on this issue for a long time – for many years the rates did not go up at all and people experienced real hardship. Our ultimate aim is to build a society where social care is free at the point of need and where no one with a learning disability has to use their benefits to pay for care. This inflation busting 7% is a welcome step in the right direction.”
