{"id":60179,"date":"2024-11-07T09:38:32","date_gmt":"2024-11-07T09:38:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.sense.org.uk\/?p=60179"},"modified":"2026-03-13T15:51:08","modified_gmt":"2026-03-13T15:51:08","slug":"autumn-budget-2024-what-it-means-for-disabled-people-and-families","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sense.org.uk\/blog\/autumn-budget-2024-what-it-means-for-disabled-people-and-families\/","title":{"rendered":"Autumn budget 2024: what it means for disabled people and families"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Last week\u2019s Autumn Budget was the first by a Labour government in over 14 years and a lot of changes were announced. Now we\u2019ve had time to go through the detail, we have a clearer idea what it means for disabled people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>There were some positives, such as more Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) funding. But it has also left us with big questions and concerns at Sense.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In the coming weeks, we\u2019ll continue advocating for the support that disabled people need:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list is-style-primary-bullets\">\n<li><strong>MP briefings<\/strong>: We\u2019re briefing MPs around these Budget impacts, and we\u2019ll host a Parliamentary drop-in on 3 December to speak directly with MPs about Sense\u2019s priorities.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Our Plan for Change<\/strong>: On 3 December we\u2019ll be handing in our Plan for Change petition to 10 Downing Street.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Working with other charities<\/strong>: As part of coalitions with similar charities we will be pushing back against some of the proposals.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Highlighting the realities for disabled people<\/strong>: We\u2019ll keep sharing stories from disabled people and families who rely on these services and benefits, to make sure the Government understands the very real impacts these Budget changes could have. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sense.org.uk\/get-involved\/campaign\/share-your-story\/\">Do you have a story to share?<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Welfare cuts could mean harder times ahead<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>One of the biggest concerns from the Autumn Budget is the Government\u2019s intention to reduce welfare spending by \u00a33 billion. Any changes would be incredibly damaging for people who rely on these to cover the basic costs of daily life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We\u2019re calling on the Government to ensure disability benefits are protected and not restricted as part of this \u00a33 billion cut. The focus should be on making the system fairer and reforming benefits so they help people into work, when they can work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Social care concerns<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>An additional \u00a3600 million has been allocated for social care, but while this is positive, it won\u2019t be enough to meet the full needs of the sector.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But of real concern to Sense, and other charities who are social care providers, is the proposed rise in National Insurance contributions by employers, and a rise in the minimum wage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>At Sense are committed to paying our care workers fairly, but we need additional funding to make this possible and to cover the rising costs of these changes. We are lobbying the Government for support to either offset these changes or give social care providers an exemption. Otherwise, covering these added costs will make it even more challenging for us to continue providing specialist care.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>SEND funding: small steps forward<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The budget did bring some welcome news for social care and SEND funding, with some Specialist education funding being announced. There will be a \u00a31 billion increase in SEND funding within the schools budget, intended to help local authorities meet growing demands in the SEND system. This funding is important, there is still a long way to go to truly transform SEND support.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Employment support for disabled people<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>We\u2019re hopeful about the Government\u2019s \u00a3250 million investment to help more people into work, including disabled people. Sense is keen to work with the Department for Work and Pensions to expand employment support, as many disabled people face barriers to finding and staying in work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Little to address energy costs and the cost of living crisis<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>While the Government extended the Household Support Fund, there was little new help in the Budget to address the energy costs and broader financial challenges facing disabled people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We\u2019re calling for a dedicated social tariff on energy bills to help disabled people with the extra energy costs that often come with disability. Rising costs remain a huge barrier to daily living, and it\u2019s essential that the Government puts a longer-term plan in place.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A lot of changes were announced in the Budget. Now we have a clearer idea what it means for disabled people.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":true,"_searchwp_excluded":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1393,7],"tags":[],"display_author":[1310],"class_list":["post-60179","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-policy","category-blog","display_author-tom-marsland"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sense.org.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/60179","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sense.org.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sense.org.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sense.org.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/11"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sense.org.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=60179"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.sense.org.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/60179\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sense.org.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=60179"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sense.org.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=60179"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sense.org.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=60179"},{"taxonomy":"display_author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sense.org.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/display_author?post=60179"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}