U.K. families with disabled kids are drowning in debt
By Louise Kinross
Almost half of 2,300 low-income U.K. families raising children with disabilities or serious illnesses can’t meet everyday expenses despite receiving disability benefits, a new report from Family Fund finds.
Over half have skipped meals to ensure their kids can eat, one in three can’t keep their home warm, and 80 per cent can’t replace items like a fridge or bed when they break. Eighty-seven per cent of parents have no savings and 83 per cent are in debt.
Respondents to the Cost of Caring 2025 survey—41 per cent single parents—said their costs were higher because their disabled child needs special food, equipment and clothing, and additional bedding, heating and cleaning products.
Round-the-clock caring means paid work is not an option for most. Supporting their child’s personal care, medications, therapies and appointments interferes with the regular workday and parents often have to drop everything if the school calls to say their child needs to be picked up.
“I’m constantly taking phone calls from hospitals, doing admin tasks to support them, have them home sick, [or are] taking them to hospital and doctors’ appointments,” one participant said. “There is no employer that would allow me to take the time needed to care for the children.”
Parents provide the equivalent of an extra full-time unpaid caring role every day, the report says, with only seven per cent saying they work as much as they would like.
Seventy-seven per cent of families report multiple disabled people in the house, and more than half of parents identified as disabled themselves.
For children with complex needs, childcare is often unavailable, unaffordable, or unsuitable, the report says. Sixty per cent said having no appropriate childcare was a barrier to work. Parents often don’t trust providers to care for their child’s extra needs, and family and friends may not be comfortable doing so.
Sixty-eight per cent of parents said their child was negatively affected by their financial situation, and 28 per cent of carers scored on wellbeing scales in the clinical depression range.
“This report highlights stark findings, with no improvement since our 2022 survey,” says Cheryl Ward, Group CEO of Family Fund, which provides grants and supports to U.K. families. “As caring costs increase for families, barriers to paid work as a route out of poverty remain unchanged, including a lack of suitable childcare. Until these challenges are addressed, families raising disabled and seriously ill children can’t escape the cycle of living in debt, going without essentials like food, clothing and furniture and experiencing poor mental health. We’re supporting rising numbers of families each year with basic items like washing machines, beds, clothing and equipment.”
The Cost of Caring report recommends the added costs related to disability be covered in family funding; that policy-makers understand that paid work isn’t a solution to poverty for many; that childcare and respite be affordable and tailored to children with complex needs; and that parent wellbeing is prioritized.
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