Cost of living advice and information funded by the British Gas Energy Trust

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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. 

 

What to do if you can’t afford to pay

If you can’t afford to pay your energy bills, we have specialist cost of living 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.

A woman being helped to stock her kitchen cupboards
  • Try these cheap but tasty Easy Read recipes from a Community Interest Company called Turning Heads
Try these cheap but tasty Easy Read recipes from a Community Interest Company called Turning Heads

Additional pages for cost of living advice and support

News on the cost of living

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 the cost of living crisis, do let us know. We want to share your experiences to help people understand what things are like for people with a learning disability .

Cost of living 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.

It started on 1 October 2022 and will last until April 2024. However, the limit will go up after 30 June 2023.

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.

The government has put this into law with new regulations, The Care and Support (Charging and Assessment of Resources) (Amendment) (No. 2) Regulations 2022.