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Consumer Scotland research highlights ongoing energy bill impacts on disabled people

  • Area of Work: Policy and Research
  • Type: News Item
  • Published: 22nd April 2024
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Disabled people continue to face heightened challenges associated with higher energy bills, including risks to health and wellbeing.

Research conducted by Collaborate Research on behalf of Consumer Scotland, the independent body that represents Scottish consumers, has shone a further spotlight on the difficulties posed by persistently higher energy costs for disabled people, people living with long term conditions, and unpaid carers. The research follows findings from Consumer Scotland’s regular Energy Tracker surveys, which in autumn 2023 found that although there had been a general reduction in the number of households facing affordability challenges since autumn 2022, there had been no improvement for households with a disabled member.

The ALLIANCE were amongst the organisations that attended the workshop to inform the research in December last year, alongside participants who are disabled, living with a long term condition, or a carer for someone who is. Our contributions to the discussion were built on the findings of our ‘Disabled People, Unpaid Carers and the Cost of Living Crisis‘ report, including the concerns around the human rights implications of people being unable to charge assistive technologies they rely on to participate in society.

The research found that disabled people often had unavoidably high energy needs, relating for example to the need to keep a constant temperature in the home and to power equipment like wheelchairs, hoists and medical devices, whilst also having generally lower incomes and a higher cost of living. The recent and persistent increases in energy bills were found to be having negative impacts on people’s finances, physical health, mental health, and putting them at risk of social isolation.

Participants in the research highlighted a range of contributing factors to these issues, including the inadequacy of social security payments, the complexity of support systems and a lack of understanding of diverse experiences. It was felt that there needed to be more work to ensure the adequacy of support and link it more directly to the cost realities facing disabled people, as well as to make the economic and social case for better financial support.

You can read the full research paper on Consumer Scotland’s website here.

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