Government turning its back on vulnerable, says Wiltshire mum

Karen Tilley's daughter Josselin has been deaf and blind since birth and is unable to walk or talk

The mother of a disabled child whose energy bill has almost quadrupled says the government is "turning its back" on the most vulnerable families.

Karen Tilley's 16-year-old daughter needs a ventilator at night.

The mum, from Westbury in Wiltshire, had hoped for tailored financial help for people running medical machinery.

The government said in Wednesday's Budget it would extend its general support for energy bills at current levels for a further three months.

A spokesperson said it was targeting additional support to the vulnerable, including a £900 payment for those on means-tested benefits, £300 for pensioners and an extra £150 for disabled people.

Chancellor Jeremy Hunt unveiled the contents of his first Budget in the House of Commons.

But Ms Tilley, whose daughter Josselin has a rare condition called Charge syndrome and has been blind and deaf since birth, said the announcement had left her "disappointed", adding the government "just have got no awareness of families like ours".

Ms Tilley says the life-support equipment at home for Josselin has increased her energy costs significantly, almost tripling them.

She said her gas and electric payments had risen to about £470 per month, up from around £120 a year ago.

• What the Budget means for you and your money

• Energy bill help to continue until end of June

Her husband Lee also requires a ventilator at night after he suffered a stroke having been in a coma, after he fell ill with Covid two years ago.

The 45-year-old was a builder but can no longer work, meaning Ms Tilley has to do full-time hours as a carer and housekeeper in order to support the family.

She described her home as being like a "mini intensive care unit" and said seeing her energy bills rise had been "worrying".

Ms Tilley says the government has "no awareness of families like ours"

Detailing the cutbacks her family has had to make, she said: "We've had our house a lot colder than usual this year and we've not been using things like the tumble drier, and trying to use the slow cooker and not putting the oven on for just one thing.

"We've never made cutbacks as much as this before."

After seeing the Budget highlights, Ms Tilley said: "There hasn't been anything to help families like ours at all."

She added she felt the government was "not acknowledging the people that are having to use medical machines that consume a lot of energy, and it's a different cost to what other people with disabilities would have".

"They haven't really given any consideration to people living with serious medical conditions."

Ms Tilley said the energy price guarantee would make little difference to her family's finances

She said the energy price guarantee would make little difference to her family's finances.

The guarantee means bills for a typical household for gas and electricity are about £2,500 per year.

That maximum limit had been scheduled to rise to £3,000 a year from April, but the government announced it would continue at the same level for the next three months. The chancellor said this would save the average family £160.

'Turning their backs'

Ms Tilley also said the announcements around getting disabled people into work did not apply to her daughter, who cannot walk, talk, read or write.

"They are not considering the really disabled people who will never, ever work in their lifetime and disability benefits will always be their only income," she said.

"They're just really turning their backs on those people who are the most vulnerable and most disabled."

A number of charities including Guide Dogs, which matched Josselin with her buddy dog Stormzy, had called on the chancellor to boost support by £15 per month for families with disabled children who are eligible to claim universal credit and child tax credit, amid the ongoing cost-of-living crisis.

Ms Tilley said she had seen comments on social media referring to such benefits as "handouts", but said most people were not aware of the realities for disabled families.

She said: "DLA [disability living allowance] is for children under 16, where at least one parent - or there might only be one parent - has had to give up their job to look after their disabled child, so it really isn't a massive amount of money at all.

"It's something, but it's certainly not like a massive handout - you can't live a lavish lifestyle on disability benefits at all."

• What the Budget means for you and your money

• Free childcare plan: 'Why do we have to wait?'

A Department for Energy Security and Net Zero spokesperson said: "We know it's been an incredibly tough time with families struggling to meet energy costs, which is why the Government covered around half of the typical household's energy bill over the winter.

"Moving forward, we're targeting additional support to the vulnerable, including a £900 payment for those on means-tested benefits, £300 for pensioners and an extra £150 for disabled people.

"The Energy Price Guarantee will be kept at £2,500 for an additional three months from April to June."