Cost of living payments worth up to £500 available to thousands living with specific illness

PEOPLE surviving with a circumstantial unwellness are eligible for a whopping £500 worthy of outgo of surviving payments.

The MND Association - a charity which supports radical affected by centrifugal neurone illness - has announced that the worth of its Cost of Living Support Fund is expanding to a maximum of £500 from £350.

This is an uplift of £150.

MND affects up to 5,000 adults successful the UK astatine immoderate 1 time.

The money tin beryllium applied for by those with a confirmed diagnosis oregon suspected diagnosis of MND oregon Kennedy's disease.

The strategy was acceptable up successful 2023 for those who are struggling with household bills, nutrient oregon buying costs.

It's not means tested, truthful you volition not beryllium required to supply impervious of income, and nary quotes oregon receipts are required arsenic portion of
the exertion process.

With galore radical surviving with MND experiencing their bills rise, the foundation made the changes to the money connected 1 November.

It was partially successful effect to the latest survey from the foundation which revealed that implicit 80% of carers of radical with MND person utilized savings oregon status plans to screen household costs.

Furthermore, probe successful 2023 recovered households affected by MND walk an mean of £14,500 a twelvemonth connected costs associated with surviving and managing the information - a wide denotation that the fiscal interaction of the illness has ne'er been higher.

Those who person already received the erstwhile magnitude tin inactive use for the difference, should they request to.

Sally Hughes, manager of services and partnerships astatine the MND Association, said: “We cognize galore radical surviving with and affected by MND volition beryllium anxious and disquieted arsenic household costs proceed to rise. 

“As we caput into the colder months, we privation to easiness the fiscal load connected radical with MND. People shouldn’t person to interest astir whether to eat, vigor their location oregon crook connected captious equipment. 

“It is erstwhile again different illustration of charities stepping up wherever statutory services person failed to bash so.  

“What we truly request is for the Government to bash much to assistance susceptible radical alternatively than instrumentality distant support, arsenic they person with the caller changes to the Winter Fuel Payment."

How tin I apply?

If you would similar to apply, a elemental signifier asks you to outline wherefore the Cost of Living money is required and however it volition beryllium used.

You tin download the exertion signifier from The MND Association's website.

Once you person completed the form, you volition request to email it to [email protected] and your exertion volition beryllium considered.

If you are awarded the fund, the MND Association volition put for the outgo to beryllium made to you.

What different outgo of surviving payments are available?

The existent economical clime is seeing much charities measurement successful to capable the spread near by a deficiency of enactment from the Government and statutory services. 

For those surviving with cancer, Macmillan's Financial Grants Scheme was established to assistance enactment those who are struggling to screen indispensable surviving costs.

So anyone surviving with crab and who needs assistance with bills and different essentials tin use for the grant.

It's worthy up to £350 and is simply a one-off outgo and tin beryllium utilized to assistance with things like:

• Energy bills
• Home adaptions
• The outgo of travel to and from hospital
• Any other costs you mightiness person due to the fact that of cancer

However, dissimilar the MND Association fund, it is means-tested.

This means some the pursuing request to use to go eligible:

You indispensable person nary much than £6,000 successful savings for a household of 1 idiosyncratic oregon nary much than £8,000 for a household of 2 oregon much people

You indispensable person a play income of nary much than £323 per week for a household of 1 idiosyncratic oregon nary much than £442 per week for a household of 2 oregon much people.

Benefits like personal independency payments (PIP), disability surviving allowance (DLA) or attendance allowance (AA) do not number towards income for this.

To use you tin telephone 0808 808 00 00 oregon you tin talk to 1 of your healthcare team, similar a territory caregiver oregon Macmillan nurse, attraction nonrecreational oregon benefits advisor who tin capable successful the signifier with you online.

The British Legion has besides acceptable up a Cost of Living grant, which tin beryllium applied for here utilizing the Lightning Reach portal.

You tin besides find retired what grants whitethorn beryllium disposable to you utilizing Turn2Us's assistance search connected the foundation website.

There are a immense scope of grants disposable for antithetic radical – including those who are bereaved, disabled, unemployed, redundant, ill, a carer, veteran, young idiosyncratic oregon aged person.

What is the Household Support Fund?

You whitethorn besides beryllium eligible for up to £500 worthy of outgo of surviving payments from the government's Household Support Fund (HSF) which is worthy £421 cardinal successful total.

It's disposable to enactment those who are struggling to spend household basics including food, energy, wider essentials, and exceptional costs.

The money has been divided up between councils in England who are successful complaint of distributing their allocation.

It was acceptable up successful 2021, however, it has been extended by the UK authorities a fig of times. 

How overmuch you are eligible for is usually based connected what benefits you already person and your fiscal circumstances. 

To beryllium eligible for help, you usually person to beryllium successful receipt of a council tax reduction oregon amusement impervious of being successful fiscal difficulty.

Each assembly has a antithetic exertion process - truthful you'll person to inquire your section authorization oregon find retired via your council's website.

To find retired however to interaction your section authority, usage the gov.uk authorization instrumentality checker.

In the past circular of funding, immoderate residents received their stock automatically, portion others had to apply.

For example, Haringey London Council is issuing automatic payments to eligible residents, arsenic good arsenic a enactment money which tin beryllium applied to.

It is besides issuing payments to schools, which means they tin administer escaped schoolhouse vouchers.