Disabled people are having to make increasing use of doorstep loans, according to a survey carried out for the disability charity Scope. The survey found that one in ten disabled people have resorted to the loans, compared with just 3 per cent of the general population.
Richard Hawkes, Scope chief executive, commented: 'Disabled people face an utterly uneven financial playing field. If you’re disabled, preparing a cooked meal or going to work comes with big extra costs. At the same, you’re more likely to be on a lower income or out of work... If we want disabled people to live independently and pay the bills we cannot take billions of pounds of support away, particularly while disabled people are financially vulnerable, and less able to build up their own financial safety net. The government... must start focusing on policies that build disabled people’s financial resilience, so that they do not have to turn to risky credit and face slipping into debt'.
Source: Ipsos MORI, Disabled People and Financial Wellbeing, Scope
Links: Report | Scope press release