Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate her Department has made of the number of disabled people who have less than £10 per week to spend on food and other essentials after paying for housing, tax and other bills across the UK; and what steps her Department is taking to support disabled people in response to the increase in the cost of living.

No such assessment has been made. The government understands the pressures people are facing with the cost of living. In 2022/23 we will spend over £64bn on benefits to support disabled people and people with health conditions in Great Britain and spending on the main disability benefits – PIP, DLA and Attendance Allowance – will be over £6bn higher in real terms than in 2010.

We know that living with a long-term illness or disability can impact on living costs and financial support is available to those, or those who care for them. People who have a health condition or disability which restricts the amount of work they can do could receive over £350 a month on top of the Universal Credit standard allowance.