Mencap's Acting Chief Executive, Jackie O'Sullivan, said:

‘While the news of the decrease to the cap on energy bills for a typical domestic household is welcome, average energy bill prices will still be around double that of before the energy crisis – price pressures that people with a learning disability can ill afford.  People with a learning disability face disproportionately high bills as their energy requirements often go beyond that of non-disabled people - for example, to keep the heating on for longer or to power essential medical equipment. 
 

‘Now more than ever, it is vital that the Government urgently tackles these affordability barriers and supports people with a learning disability through the introduction of a social tariff as well as immediate energy bill support this winter’ 
 

 
 

Notes to editors:  

About Mencap:    

There are approximately 1.5 million people with a learning disability in the UK. Mencap works to support people with a learning disability, their families and carers by fighting to change laws, improve services and access to education, employment and leisure facilities. Mencap supports thousands of people with a learning disability to live their lives the way they want: www.mencap.org.uk    

For advice and information about learning disability and Mencap services in your area, contact Mencap’s Freephone Learning Disability Helpline on 0808 808 1111 (10am-3pm, Monday-Friday) or email helpline@mencap.org.uk.           

What is a learning disability?       

  • A learning disability is a reduced intellectual ability which means that people might need support with everyday tasks – for example shopping and cooking, or travelling to new places – which affects someone for their whole life;       

  • Learning disability is NOT a mental illness or a learning difficulty, such as dyslexia. Very often the term ‘learning difficulty’ is wrongly used interchangeably with ‘learning disability’;        

  • People with a learning disability can take longer to learn new things and may need support to develop new skills, understand difficult information and engage with other people. The level of support someone needs is different with every individual. For example, someone with a severe learning disability might need much more support with daily tasks than someone with a mild learning disability.