Discounts For Disabled People | More Ability

Published: 16 March 2021

As providers of disabled bathrooms, we are often asked about the available discounts for disabled people.

If you’ve read our Disability grants for home improvement guide you’ll know there are several home improvement discounts available.

Alongside home improvement savings, there is also a variety of discounts for disabled people available including reduced bills, travel, and entertainment costs. We’ve broken down the main entitlements below whilst answering your frequently asked questions.

Home Improvement Discounts For Disabled People

There are a number of disability grants and VAT exemption options available for home improvement. We’ve broken down the main options below;

Disabled Facilities Grant (DFG)

Under this Grant funding of up to £30,000 is provided by your local council to help financially support adaptations around the home for those living with a disability.

Minor Adaptations Grant

Under this Grant funding of up to £1,000 is provided by your local council to help fund smaller adaptations and purchase disability equipment.

VAT Exemption

Home improvement support for disabled people is also available in the form of VAT exemption schemes. If you suffer from a disability and or physical condition (e.g. arthritis) and are improving your home to assist with your physical condition (e.g. installation of an accessible shower) you may be eligible to pay 0% VAT.

For more information and to find out how to apply take a read of our Disability grants for home improvement article.

What does a disabled badge entitle you to?

If you are a holder of a disabled blue badge you may be eligible for the following entitlements;

Road Tax Exemption

You may be exempt from paying road tax if you get the ‘higher rate mobility component of Disability Living Allowance (DLA) or the enhanced rate mobility component of Personal Independence Payment (PIP)’, if you are eligible you’ll automatically get a refund for any remaining months of road tax once you apply.

To find out more information and how to claim visit the gov.uk website.

Disabled parking space

If you have a blue badge you can request for a disabled parking space to be created close to your home to be used by yourself and other blue badge holders.

To apply for a disabled person’s residential parking, you will need to get in contact with your local council.

Road parking

- Blue badge holders may park on single or double yellow lines for up to 3 hours, where there are no restrictions on loading or unloading. You will need to check whether the local council of the particular area have exempt blue badge holders from doing so.

- Blue badge holders are also exempt from paying to use street parking meters and pay display machines, allowing you to park in the area free of charge for as long as needed.

- Unless signs state otherwise, you may also park for free and without a time limit on street disabled parking bays. You must however have your blue badge on display.

More information on disabled parking can be found on the gov.uk website.

You may also be eligible for the following discounts for disabled people below;

Utility Bill Discounts

If you have a permanent disability and or medical condition you may be eligible to save money on your energy and water bill. More information can be found below:

Warm Home Discounts For Disabled People

Although there are no specific Warm home discounts for disabled people you may be eligible for the government’s warm home discount scheme that provides a £140 payment (to your energy supplier) for winter 2020 to 2021 dependant on your yearly income. Providing a one-off discount, those eligible includes people who get certain disability-related benefits.

Water Bill Discount

If you have a disability or medical condition that causes you to use additional water at home (including Abdominal stomas, Crohn’s disease, Ulcerative colitis and or Desquamation) and you receive certain benefits you may be eligible to apply for the Watersure scheme.

Under this scheme, your water bill is capped to the average water bill within your area so you don’t have to pay more due to your disability. You’ll also need to have a water metre to allow your water usage to be measured.

To find out more information and how to apply here.

Council Tax Discounts

Dependant on your local council, council tax discount for disabled people is available for those who are ‘permanently and substantially disabled by illness, injury or congenital deformity or other reason’. For an eligibility list and to apply for a council tax discount more information can be found here.

You may also be eligible for the disabled band reduction scheme if you have an extra bathroom, kitchen and or other room within your home that you need for a disabled person that you would not otherwise require or extra space inside your property for the use of a wheelchair. To find out if you qualify more information can be found here.

Free Prescriptions

Entitling you to free NHS prescriptions, if you have a ‘continuing physical disability which means you cannot go out without the help of another person’ you may be eligible to apply for a medical exemption certificate.

To find out more information and how to apply, you can visit the NHS website here.

What discount cards for disabled people are available?

There are several discount cards for disabled people available helping you to save on travel and entertainment. We’ve listed the main cards below:

The CEA Card

The CEA card enables a disabled cinema guest to receive a complimentary ticket that allows a friend, family member or carer to go with them for free. With several cinema chains included in the scheme and costing just £6, this card is a great way to save money whilst watching your favourite films.

Disabled person’s railcard & travel pass

The Disabled Persons Railcard allows holders to save 1/3 of the cost when travelling by train. Costing £20 for the year, this card has average annual savings of up to £115 for regular train travellers.

Dependant on where you live, you may also be eligible to apply for a disabled persons travel pass which will entitle you free travel bus travel in your city. Visit your local council website to gather further information on how to apply.

Max card

Created to offer support to families with foster children and children with additional needs. The max card provides discounts and or free access to several attractions across the U.K including museums, theme parks and bus tours.

Access Card

Although it is not directly a discount card, the Access card can help when booking attractions that offer discounts to those with disabilities. Acting as an ID card, it can help to provide proof of disability for locations that may ask.

Are there any hotel discounts for disabled people available?

Whilst there are no directly listed hotel discounts for disabled people always call the hotel you wish to potentially book and enquire as they may offer discounts not currently listed online.

If travelling, however, dependant on the airline you are travelling with you may be able to choose your allocated seat for you and one of the people you are travelling with free of charge.

We hope you found our discounts for disabled people article useful and informative. If you have any questions or would like further advice on the available disability discounts for home improvement please call a friendly member of our team or book a free design appointment online.

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