The Health and Social Care Alliance Scotland (the ALLIANCE) is urging the Scottish government to prioritise emergency direct cash payments of £400 for both carers and disabled people to help fight the cost-of-living crisis.

A report published today by the national third sector intermediary for health and social care organisations not only issues an urgent call to action for the Scottish and UK government but details the impact of the rising crisis.

One of the key recommendations in the report is to provide disabled people, people living with long term conditions and unpaid carers with top-up payments as inflations and bills continue to grow.

The ALLIANCE report highlights that energy bills will have doubled since 2021, with low-income families estimated to be around £800 short of covering increased costs including necessities of food and utilities.

In its summary, the organisation states that current support does not go far enough – and the costs of not acting now could be great to people and the public purse:

‘For disabled people, people living with long term conditions, and unpaid carers, adequate support to cover their energy bills could be the difference between remaining healthy at home or needlessly ending up in hospital, to the detriment of their health and dignity, and at greater cost to public finances.

‘As an essential public health intervention, targeted emergency social security payments could make a significant difference, as a form of preventative spending.’

Long-term action is also needed, says the ALLIANCE, to address the root causes of the crisis by reassessing the economic approach and public finances in a way that upholds human rights.

Discussing the need to address rising healthcare inequalities in Scotland, Chris Creegan told healthandcare.scot this week that, while responding to immediate crises is a priority, solutions lie in long-term, collaborative approaches across sectors.

For now, the ALLIANCE makes a series of recommendations in its report, calling for the Scottish government to offer emergency social security payments and provide urgent targeted action.

Such payments must reach those most at risk, and the ALLIANCE proposes £400 cash payments to two eligible groups: those receiving a disability payment and anyone receiving either Winter Heating Payment or Carer’s Allowance.

Estimating a cost of £373m to the Scottish government, the ALLIANCE adds that under the proposed of emergency payments scheme, anyone eligible via both routes would receive £800. This would meet the basic level of support identified by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation as necessary for closing the gap that will still exist for people on low incomes even with UK government additional payments given the cost-of-living increase.

Chief Officer of the ALLIANCE Sara Redmond, said:

“Rising energy bills hit disabled people, people living with long term conditions and unpaid carers particularly hard. An increasing number of people are now living in poverty unable to heat their homes and reliant on foodbanks.

“In our report, published today, we call for urgent action by the government to tackle the fuel poverty crisis by providing additional support to pay energy bills and rising household costs.” 

The call to action echoes those previously made by Inclusion Scotland which has urged the Scottish government to provide target financial support to offset the ‘catastrophic’ impacts of the crisis for disabled people.

Alongside directed top-up payments, the ALLIANCE urges the UK government to uprate payments in line with inflation and for both governments to invest in renewable energy, energy efficiency and poverty reduction measures.

Carers Scotland recently reported that financial pressures on unpaid carers in Scotland are rising, with 35% of Scots carers already living in fuel poverty and more than half with an income well below the average gross monthly income. It also issued a call to both Scottish and UK governments to provide direct financial support to households with carers and disabled people.

Speaking in parliament yesterday, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said:

“It would not be acceptable for any child or adult to end up in care because rising energy costs made it impossible for them to use the equipment that supported them to stay in their own homes. We will work to ensure, as far as we can, that that support is available.”

Read more: Social deprivation linked to frailty; Insight: Carers in need as fuel poverty hits; Cost of living ‘catastrophic’ for disabled people

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