The cost of everything is going up.
The cost of gas and electricity (energy) is going up a lot.
Many people cannot afford to heat their homes or use electricity.
They are worried about winter, when this will get even worse.
In May, the former Chancellor, Rishi Sunak, said the government will help by giving people some money.
This money is called a ‘cost of living payment’.
But this help is not enough. Especially for Disabled people.
People need more help to survive.
The Government said they will do things to help people. But they have not made any good plans for this.
The Chancellor is the person in Government who makes decisions about public money.
They decide how much tax is paid. They choose where the government’s money goes and how it is used.
Every year, they write a budget that explains where this money goes and how it will be used.
Disabled people often need to use more energy than other people.
This means their energy bills are even higher than most people.
Some Disabled people need to charge mobility devices like wheelchairs.
This uses electricity.
Some Disabled people need ventilators or other medical equipment. These use electricity, too.
Some Disabled people need more heating for their health or because they cannot stay warm. This uses gas.
All of this costs money to just live.
Deaf and Disabled People’s Organisations (DDPOs) have members whose energy bill has gone up a lot.
They have some members who pay more than £6,000 a year for energy.
Energy bills go up again in October.
So their energy costs will soon be even more than £6,000.
Some Disabled people’s energy bills have gone up by more than £1,000 since last year.
The Government are giving Disabled people on Disability benefits £150 to help.
This is not enough. £150 is a lot less than £1,000.
Some Disabled people will get £650. These are only people on certain benefits.
Even this is not enough. £650 is still a lot less than £1,000.
Poverty means when people do not have enough money for things they need. Like food, heating, and electric.
Poverty among Disabled people is a big problem.
It is getting worse every year.
There have been more than 10 years of Government cuts to services that Disabled people need to live.
This has caused thousands of deaths.
Half the people living in poverty are either Disabled or live with a Disabled person.
More than half the people who use foodbanks are Disabled.
Because of social care charging, Disabled people have to pay for care they need to live.
Some Disabled people have to pay even if they do not have much money.
We are asking people to write to their MPs to ask for more help.
MPs have the power to talk about things in Parliament.
We want them to talk about the rising cost of living.
We want them to talk about how to help people.
An MP is a Member of Parliament. People vote for them to get their roles. There are MPs in all areas of the UK.
They are meant to talk about the interests and concerns of the people who live in their area.
They are meant to make things better for and help the people in their areas.
We use a website called The Action Network to send letters to MPs.
This means people do not need to buy a stamp or go to the post office.
The website sends the letter for people.
But, it does not have Easy Read. So we have more information to help below.
You can write to your MP by sending our letter and our ideas.
Or you might not want to use our letter. You might have your own ideas that you want to send instead. That is okay too.
Our Easy Read webpages are new. We are still testing them.
Some things will change as we make them better.