Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment she has made of the impact of the rise in the cost of living on people who are blind and partially sighted.

While there has been no formal assessment of the impact of the rise in the cost of living on people who are blind and partially sighted, my colleague the Minister for Disabled People has commissioned officials to investigate the lived experience of disabled people resulting from the rising cost of living.

Over the summer a number of meetings and focus groups have taken place to hear disabled people's experiences, including one which was set up jointly with RNIB. Alongside this officials are building the evidence base on how cost of living is impacting disabled people. This information will feed into the Government’s considered response.