Day-to-day living spirals down for families with disabled children, report shows

As winter approaches, families with disabled or seriously ill children face dauntingly grave financial challenges, according to latest research findings.

In its latest poll, national charity Family Fund shows how prospects for the families it supports continue to worsen, as they grapple with the ever-rising cost of living for day-to-day needs. 

As the UK’s largest grant-making charity for families raising disabled and seriously ill children, on the lowest incomes, Family Fund provides essential goods and services to families including kitchen appliances, clothing, bedding, play and sensory equipment and much-needed family breaks.

Last year, it delivered over 170,919 grants and services, worth over £37 million, to families on low incomes across the UK.  

The charity’s Cost of Caring report, published last month for the first time, showed deteriorating conditions for families with disabled and seriously ill children. The report covered four quarterly polls in the year that followed the pandemic.

However, the latest quarterly poll, from September this year, shows an ever worsening picture, with families facing hunger and spiralling debts as they struggle to meet the needs of their children.

Families face a triple whammy of sky-high costs on top of severely reduced incomes, due to intense caring responsibilities and three-times-higher costs to look after a disabled child.

Over 70% of parents and carers report not being able to work at all, or as much as they want to, because of the care their children need, a post-pandemic reduction in support services for children, and parents being furloughed and living on reduced benefits.

Cheryl Ward, Family Fund’s Chief Executive Officer, said:

“Our latest figures show that families with disabled and seriously ill children continue to face daunting financial challenges, which are worsening as winter approaches. 

“The majority of families who have been supported by Family Fund have shared with us how they are struggling to cover mounting debts and worry constantly about how they are going to clothe and feed their children, fund transport for medical appointments and heat their homes.  . 

“We are doing everything we can to support families whose costs are already three times higher to care for, and raise, their disabled children than costs for other children. We urge families who need support with urgent and essential items this winter to go to our website (Family Fund) to see if we can help them.”

Key findings from latest quarterly poll with UK families raising a disabled child or young person:

Impact on households:

·       average household income for families has fallen by over £660 in the last 12 months;

·       almost 60% of families (59%) report an increase in household bills of more than £100 a month;

·       9 in ten families report they are struggling or falling behind on household bills (92%);

·       one in five families (21%) say their debt levels have risen by more than £1,000 in the last 12 months;

·       nearly 80 per cent of families (78%) have no savings to fall back on;

·       75% of families say they would not be able to save £10 a month;

·       58% have cut or skipped meals;

·       40% have gone hungry because there was not enough money for food;

·       48% are cutting back on energy;

·       over one third (35%) of families are cutting back on transport costs;

·       over one third (31%) of households said they have gone without carpets because they can’t afford them;

·       11% have gone without a cooker or fridge;

·       23% have gone without curtains;

·       20% have gone without beds;

·       27% have used a food bank;

Impact on disabled children:

·       63% of families have cut back on play and recreational activities with their disabled child;

·       31% are cutting back on toys or sensory toys for their disabled child;

·       16% said they would like fresh fruit or vegetables every day for their disabled child;

·       10 % said they would like a warm winter coat for their disabled child;

·       76 % said their disabled child’s health and wellbeing had declined in some way over the last 12 months.