Money, food and energy advice and information funded by the British Gas Energy Trust

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Advice and support with energy and money (Easy Reads)

This advice tool is full of useful information to help you manage your household bills and living costs with tips on how to save money.

Most of the information in this section is provided in Easy Read format.

Remember if you need to talk to somebody you can contact the Learning Disability helpline for more information and support:

How to use this advice tool (Easy Read)

We have made Easy Read instructions on how to use this tool to find the things you want to know about.

Read the instructions

What would you like to know about?

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The Priority Services Register

Ask to be added to the free Priorities Services Register - a list that energy and water companies use to make sure they offer help to people who need it. 

Free Mencap advice webinars

Trying to meet the cost of household bills for things like energy and food can become hard.

Find out about the support offered by our specialist energy and money advisors by enrolling on one of our FREE webinars.

Helpline adviser on the phone whilst using a computer
 

What to do if you can’t afford to pay

If you can’t afford to pay for food or your energy bills, we have specialist advisers who can give you guidance .

Contact the Mencap Helpline
 
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Help with food 

Food banks can give people food in an emergency and sometimes share fuel vouchers to help pay for gas and electricity. The Citizens Advice have information on how to use a food bank.

You usually need a referral to use a food bank.

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Additional pages for advice and support with money, food and energy

News about money, food and energy

What can I do to make a difference?

You could become a Mencap e-campaigner to make a difference - why not register today?

Alternatively, if you have a story to share about, do let us know. We want to share your experiences to help people understand what things are like for people with a learning disability.

Money, food and energy questions and answers

If you pay charges for care in your own home, your council should check that you have enough money to live on.

If you think that there are costs that were not looked at when your income was checked, you can ask for your council to look again.

Contact the Mencap Helpline for more information.

The Government has made money available to local councils to support people with their bills. This is called the ‘Household Support Grant’.

Contact the Mencap Helpline to see if there is any help for you. 

The energy price cap is about how much energy companies can charge for gas and electricity.

The amount you'll pay depends on how much gas and electricity you use.

You don’t need to do anything. The Energy Price Guarantee automatically applies to all types of energy tariffs. 

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Many people with a learning disability who get social care support from their council have to pay money in charges towards their care.

The government has said that people get to keep all of the cost of living payments and councils cannot take the payments into account for social care charges.