George Osborne did not mention disabled people in his Budget yesterday, but did say that a cap on contributions towards the cost of social care will be set to protect savings above £72,000.
“We’ll raise the threshold for the means test on residential care from just over £23,000 to £118,000 that year too,” he told the Commons.
Richard Hawkes, Chief Executive of disability charity
Scope, said:
“Disabled people want to live independently. But the support they need to get up, get dressed and get out and about is being squeezed due to chronic under-funding of social care.
“Neither the £72,000 cap on costs nor £118,000 means test will resolve the care crisis for disabled people, who make up a third of the people who use social care.
“Disabled people want to be able to pay for essentials without turning to credit. But in 2013 they are struggling to make ends meet.
“Life costs more if you're disabled and this is being compounded as living costs spiral and incomes flat-line. What's the Government's response?
"A squeeze on financial support which means many disabled people face not one, but two, three or four different cuts to vital support.”
Mr Osborne suggested that more cuts to public spending may be ananoucned in the spending review in June.
“Ultimately as a country we will not be able to spend more on the services we all value, from our NHS to our armed forces, or invest in our infrastructure, unless we go on tackling the growth of spending of welfare budgets,” he told MPs.
Mr Osborne said he intends to introduce limits on Annually Managed Expenditure, which includes “almost the entire welfare budget as well as items like debt interest and payments to the EU”.
“It will be set out in a way that allows the automatic stabilisers to operate – but will bring real control to areas of public spending that had been out of control,” he said.
Mr Hawkes a new cap on welfare is "a frightening prospect".
“Some people need benefits, get over it.
"It doesn't make them a scrounger, it doesn't make them workshy and it doesn't make them a lay-about.
“Surely an aspiration nation should be a place where disabled people can pay the bills and live independently?”