Counting the Costs survey 2014

Date: 12th May 2014
Category: Disability, Basic Health and Welfare, Family Environment and Alternative Care

Contact a Family is calling on all family members who care for children and young people with additional needs or disabilities to take part in some important research about family finances and the impact of welfare reforms.

Counting the Costs 2014 is a repeat of the Contact a Family flagship survey and report that has been carried out every two years since 2008. In 2012, they found that one in seven families with disabled children were missing meals and one in six couldn't afford to heat their homes.

• Download the 2012 report here.

Since then, many of the government's planned welfare cuts have been implemented, as the biggest shake up of the UK's benefits system in 30 years continues. This means that your responses to Counting the Costs 2014 will give Contact a Family a unique snapshot of families' current financial situation and whether it is getting better or worse as a result of these changes.

By filling out the survey you will help Contact a Family to raise awareness and lobby for change - particularly as welfare reforms continue to hit families with disabled children hard.

• Get your voice heard and complete the survey here.

The deadline to respond is the end of May 2014.

If you would like a hard copy of the survey or help completing the survey please phone 020 7608 8742.

The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) places responsibility on UK governments to ensure that the rights enshrined in the Convention are respected and fulfilled for all children and young people. These include the right to a standard of living adequate for the child's physical, mental and social development (Article 27) and the right to enjoying the highest attainable standard of health including adequate nutritious foods (Article 24). These must be delivered on the basis of non-discrimination and irrespective of any status including disability (Article 2).