Families with disabled children racked with debt

November 8, 2004

UK Families with severely disabled children are falling into debt and

struggling to meet the costs of essential care due to insufficient

benefits, a Government-funded charity has warned.

A seminar at 11 Downing Street, chaired by Timms, the financial

secretary to the Treasury, heard this week that the typical family with

a severely disabled child currently earns less than the national average

and is facing heavy debts.

Such families are forced to spend considerably more to cover the costs

of special diets, housing adaptations and specialist transport, the

Family Fund said.

On average, it said, they spend £6,710 a year more than they earn and

are running up debts worth £10,000 or more in order to pay for their

children's care.

Repayments on loans, credit cards and hire purchase by families with

severely disabled children were 20 times the national average, around

£60 a week, the seminar heard

The fund called for stricter controls on loan sharks and urged the

Government to extend its anti-poverty measures to these families as well

as give them better childcare and child benefits.

" Families are routinely paying out more for their housing, food,

transport and other needs despite earning less than other households -

and they can't keep it up, " said n Lowe, chief executive of The

Family Fund.

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