Inclusion London’s Letter to MPs about Energy Costs (Easy Read)

We wrote a letter that people can send to their MP.

It has a lot of information about how the cost of energy affects Disabled people.

You can use our letter on Action Network and send it.

You can also add some of your own words, too, if you want.

Below is our letter in Easy Read.

On Action Network, our letter is in Plain English not Easy Read.

Action Network does not let us make Easy Read letters on their website.

All the writing is the same. There are just no pictures.

Dear MP

I am writing to you for help.

Disabled people in the UK are living in poverty. They do not have enough money to live.

This poverty is getting worse all the time.

Now it is causing terrible problems for Disabled people.

Some people call this the cost-of-living crisis.

The last chancellor said there would be support for Disabled people.

He said the government had made plans to help with the cost of living crisis.

These plans were:

• People on Disability benefits would get £150. They would get this once at the end of September.
• People on means-tested benefits would get another £650 too.

More support is good.

But the Government are also taking away benefits.

They are taking away the Warm Home Discount Scheme from Disabled people.

This is also £150.

Some people who get Disability benefits will get £150, but lose a different £150.

So, even though living costs are going up, their money will stay the same.

Because everything costs more, people will spend more money to do the same things.

This means they will still have less money than before the cost-of-living crisis.

Disabled people have more energy costs than other people.

This is because we have to pay for things non-Disabled people do not.

These might be:

• More heating
• Running medical equipment.
• Electric shower-toilets and other accessibility equipment.
• Charging wheelchairs and mobility equipment.

You are the Member of Parliament (MP) for where I live.

I am asking you to write to the new Chancellor.

Ask him to take action straight away to help with this cost-of-living crisis.

There are 6 important actions on the next page.

Many Disabled people agree these will be a big help.

They will help Disabled people across the UK.

Action 1

A quick increase of benefits.

This should happen in Autumn.

Benefits should increase by 10% or more so they match inflation.

Action 2

Social care should be free to use. This should be the Government’s big plan.

Until social care is free, the government must make sure care charges are not too much.

They should increase the Minimum Income Guarantee to let disabled people keep more of their money.

The Minimum Income Guarantee is how much money people must have to live on, after paying for care.

This is the least amount of money people can be left with.

Care charges must not take away so much money they leave people with less than this minimum.

The amount a Disabled person must be left with is different for every Disabled person.

The Minimum Income Guarantee has stayed the same amount since 2016.

The cost of everything has gone up a lot since 2016.

We think the Minimum Income Guarantee should go up by at least 10%.

Action 3

Look at the benefits Disabled people get to help with the extra costs of being Disabled. This means benefits like PIP, DLA, and Attendance Allowance.

Make sure these benefits cover the higher costs we have now.

If they do not, increase them.

Action 4

Change the benefit system.

Make it easier and faster.

Give more support to people applying for and getting benefits.

A lot of the paperwork and systems for benefits are confusing. People need more help.

Action 5

Change the new guidelines for the Warm Home Discount. They should include the extra energy costs Disabled people have.

This will mean more Disabled people can get the Warm Home Discount.

Action 6

Give all family carers Carers Allowance.

Increase Carers Allowance to the same as minimum wage.

Disabled people are affected badly by the cost-of-living crisis.

Some Disabled people are affected even more than others.

Some people who are finding it the hardest are:

• Disabled women (most of all single mothers)
• Disabled children
• Disabled people of colour
• Disabled people with complex needs
• Disabled people who live in the countryside or close to the sea (rural and coastal places)

Disabled people’s energy bills are going up by much more than the support the government is giving.

Disabled People’s Organisations (DPOs) and self-advocacy groups are seeing people with huge energy bills. More than before.

Some people now have energy costs higher than £500 a month.

Other people’s energy costs have gone up by more than £1000 a year.

Even if someone gets all the money the Chancellor has agreed for support, it will not be enough.

And that is only thinking about electricity and gas.

Food, services, rent and other costs have gone up, too.

I am disappointed and worried.

Because there is only this one off payment, there is no ongoing help.

Disabled people will get money once. It will all go on their energy costs. Then they will still be worse off than non-Disabled people.

Nothing will change.

The UK is one of the richest countries in the world. But many people in the Disabled community live in poverty.

This is wrong.

Even before April 2022, Disabled people were struggling.

62% of people use Trussell Trust food banks were Disabled.

60% of people asking Citizen’s Advice for help with energy costs were Disabled.

More than 600,000 Disabled people in the UK have around £10 or less a week to pay for food and other costs.

Many Disabled people have to pay towards their care.

This leaves people in serious poverty.

The Government made special legislation to make sure cost-of-living payments are not taken away to pay for care.

This was an emergency decision.

The system should be set-up better in the first place. We should change it now for the future.

The government’s plan for helping does not give any extra money to people getting Carer’s Allowance.

Carers are also living in serious poverty. Their energy costs have gone up a lot, too.

There are also Disabled people who have no recourse to public funds status.

This status means Disabled people who are seeking asylum cannot get the money they need to survive.

Before the Chancellor’s announcement, Disabled people wanted benefits to increase.

The newspapers wrote about how the Government would increase benefits by 10% in the next year.

This is good, but it does not help people now.

Right now, people have to decide which equipment they can live without. This is because they do not have the money to use it all.

People are having to use their oxygen machines less.

Other people are turning off their heating all the time.

They have no choice. They cannot afford to run them. But this will make them very ill. They could even die.

It is a terrible choice to make.

We need action from the Government now. Not in 1 year.

We need action to make sure Disabled people survive the next year.

The Chancellor’s plans only gives a small amount of help. Disabled people will still have to make very difficult choices. They will have to choose to either:

• Not pay their bills. This could cause many problems.
• Go without food, electricity, heating, and social care.

Either choice will make physical and mental health worse. This will cause suffering.

This is wrong. Something must be done.

Thank you for supporting the Disabled community.

Thank you for taking my concerns to the Chancellor.

If you agree with what this letter says, you can send it.

If you agree and want to say what you think, you can do that, too.

We will show you below.

Go to Inclusion London’s Action Network page.

You will see the Plain English information of our Easy Reads.

There is also a small form. We have put a picture of this form next to this writing.

The form has a green bar, telling you how many people have sent plain English letters.

It has boxes for you to put your information in.

It asks for your information so it can find out who your MP is.

Then Action Network will send the letter for you.

Type in your:

First name

Last name

Email

Address

City

Postcode

Below that are two questions about subscribing. Here, this means whether you want us to send you e-mails.

One question asks if you want Inclusion London to send you updates about Action Network letters.

You can choose Yes or No.

The second question asks if you want Julia Modern from Inclusion London’s Housing project to send you updates.

You can choose Yes or No.

There is information about how you can stop e-mails in the future.

You will need to find Unsubscribe in e-mails you are sent. When you press that, you can ask for no more e-mails.

There is also a privacy statement. This is telling you that Inclusion London will have your name, e-mail and your address.

Inclusion London will not sell this information or swap it with other people.

Then you press the orange button that says ‘Start Writing’

On the next page, you will see a Plain English copy of the letter you just read.

You can add your own information to our letter if you want.

Click your cursor or finger in the box where you want to add some words. Write your words there.

At the bottom, under the letter, is another orange button.

It says Send Letter. Press this and Action Network will send your letter.