Disability charity
Scope’s report shows one in ten disabled people have used doorstep loans, compared to just 3% of the general population.
49% of disabled people use credit cards or loans to pay for everyday items including clothing and food and 19% have been unable to make the minimum payment on their credit card in the past year.
At the moment disabled people are set to by affected by as many as six different benefit changes, resulting in a total loss in financial support of £28.3 billion by 2018.
600,000 will lose out on disability benefits as the Disability Living Allowance becomes the Personal Independence Payment, with other cuts including an introduction of a cap on benefits and the 'bedroom tax' compounding the problem.
Richard Hawkes, chief executive of
Scope, said:
“Disabled people face an utterly uneven financial playing field.
"If you're disabled, preparing a cooked meal or going to work comes with big extra costs. At the same, you're more likely to be on a lower income or out of work.
“One year on from the Paralympics it is a scandal that disabled people are turning to high-risk, high-cost credit and loans just to make ends meet.
“The situation is critical. Disabled people are struggling to pay the bills and are turning to high risk credit.
“So far the Government's response has been to slash £28 billion from their financial support.
"Financial support is the difference between being able to live independently and pay for essentials, and being trapped in your own home racking up debt.
"Some disabled people will always need financial support. It doesn't make them scroungers or skivers. It simply means they can do the things everyone else does.”
Scope’s findings, published as part of a set of pamphlets called: Disabled people and Financial Well-being, reveal that 15% of disabled people – over double the rate for the public - use loans to make ends meet.
Of those disabled people who feel they are in a bad financial situation, 50% say this is because they find it difficult to pay the bills.
At the last spending review the Government revealed plans for a cap on Annually Managed Expenditure. Scope said severing of the link between need and financial support will compound the financial difficulties facing disabled people.
The report showed disabled people are less likely to have a current account and just under one in ten (8%) disabled people have been turned down for insurance, with 22% believing their impairment drives up their premiums.
“This comes down to what type of society we want to live,” said Mr Hawkes.
“In 2013, if we want disabled people to live independently and pay the bills we cannot take billions of pounds of support away, particularly while disabled people are financially vulnerable, and less able to build up their own financial safety net.
“The Government can no longer ignore the big picture of its welfare reforms. It must start focusing on policies that build disabled people's financial resilience, so that they do not have to turn to risky credit and face slipping into debt.”