Cost-of-living
Disappointingly, the new measures announced do not offer enough support for our community. People living with a muscle wasting or weakening condition are disproportionately impacted by the cost-of-living crisis. Disabled people often have higher costs of living compared to others. These can include additional transport costs to attend medical appointments, energy costs to power equipment and housing costs to fund accessibility adaptations.
No further support was announced to follow the most recent cost of living payments or the previous disability cost of living payment. The extension of the Household Support Fund for six months is positive and will help some of the poorest households with the cost of essentials. But this falls short of sector calls for the fund to be urgently extended for at least a year. Despite the Chancellor reassuring everyone that inflation is falling, and household income is set to rise, many people in our community are still feeling the harsh effects of the cost-of-living crisis. We are concerned today’s measures will not do much to help people living with muscle wasting and weakening conditions.
The NHS
Many public sector services, including health and social care, are struggling with a lack of funding and resources. The UK Government have announced an NHS productivity plan, backed by £3.4 billion. This funding will largely go to digital and technological transformation. It is our hope that this plan will help the dedicated health workforce shorten waiting times for appointments, procedures and referrals.
However, it is disappointing that the Chancellor decided not to increase overall funding for the health system or social care and instead maintain it at current levels, in real terms. The health services across all four nations are under significant pressure and demand as the need for care continues to rise. We hear this consistently from health professionals and people living with muscle wasting and weakening conditions. In addition to a more productive health system, more money and staff need to be considered as part of the wider solution. There is an urgent need to provide health and care services with the necessary support to ensure that patients and their families can continue to access timely, high quality, specialist care.
What next?
We will continue to campaign to improve the quality of life for people affected by muscle wasting and weakening conditions, to ensure access to the best possible holistic support. We will do this by:
- Monitoring any future developments, and publishing further information about any proposed changes.
- Engaging with Parliamentarians.
- Working collaboratively with other disability organisations.
- Bringing people living with muscle wasting or weakening conditions together with decision makers.
- Sharing how you can be a part of our campaigning work.
- Find out more about our campaign work and get in touch with us at campaigns@musculardystrophyuk.org to get involved.
- Get support from our helpline.
- Sign up to our monthly e-newsletter and be the first to hear about our latest news, campaigns, research and ways you can support us.
- Find out more about available cost-of-living support.