Contact a Family welcomes Carers UK’s latest research into the financial difficulties being experienced by carers.
One of the key findings of Carers in Crisis is that families with disabled children have been hardest hit among carers by the credit crunch. Counting the Costs, a recent survey and report by Contact a Family supports these findings with one in six families of disabled children reporting that they are going without food and heating.
Srabani Sen, Chief Executive of Contact a Family, said: “This latest survey again highlights the financial plight of families with disabled children who have been rocked by the soaring cost of living and the credit crunch.
“Everyone is struggling to afford grocery and fuel bills and to pay their mortgages. But it costs three times as much to raise a disabled child and this is putting families under enormous pressure just to survive in this unstable economic climate.
“We back Carers UK’s calls to overhaul Carer’s Allowance and we would like to see disability benefits increased to meet the true costs of raising a disabled child.”
Key findings of Contact a Family’s Counting the Costs are that in the last 12 months:
* One in six disabled children lives in a household struggling to afford food and heating
* Almost half of families have borrowed money from friends and family, with one in five using the cash to pay their heating bills
* One in 14 children with a disability or medical condition is living under threat of losing their home.
Carers UK’s Carers in Crisis found that:
* People caring for a disabled child under 18 are among the worst off – they are most likely to be cutting back on food and to be in debt. This is particularly worrying since their caring responsibilities are likely to last for the rest of their lives, making it harder for them to repay the debt.
* Carers on Income Support do worse than any other group according to all major indicators.
