There were certainly a few rabbits pulled out of the hat during the Chancellor’s Budget announcement on March 15, but sadly specific funding for brain injury wasn’t one of them.
In an open letter to the Chancellor in February, Headway CEO Luke Griggs, asked Mr Hunt to ensure that people living with ABI were considered. He also called for funding to be set aside to support the community-based rehabilitation services that survivors “desperately need”.
Following the Budget, Sarah Russell, Headway’s Senior Policy and Public Affairs Manager, said: “We are disappointed with the lack of dedicated funding for those living with ABI in the Spring Budget.
“There is an urgent need to support those offering high-quality rehabilitation services, in our communities.
“These services help rebuild lives after brain injury and without them, many brain injury survivors and their loved ones would struggle and in time would rely more heavily on state support when their condition deteriorates.”
“We are delighted that thousands of people engaged with our campaign ‘Budget for Brain Injury’, we want to wholeheartedly thank every single person who signed our open letter and reassure them that we will continue to fight for better funding to support those affected by ABI.”
In addition to writing to the Chancellor, earlier in the year Headway also outlined concerns about the sustainability of community-based rehabilitation by writing to the Minister for Social care, Helen Whately MP.
Sarah Russell added: “We await a detailed response from the Minister, but in any event, we will continue to take every opportunity to bang the drum for additional support on behalf of brain injury survivors and their families.
“One such opportunity has been through our work on the ABI Strategy, where we have continued to call on government to fund the work of community-based rehabilitation services, like those provided by Headway groups.
“Publication of the ABI strategy is expected later this year and we consider it essential to have dedicated funding in place to support the strategy and deliver improvements to services.”
One significant announcement in the budget, was the launch of a £100 million pot for charities. The Department for Culture, Media and Sport say that around three quarters of the funding will be used to deliver grants in 2023-2024, targeted at frontline charities and community organisations most impacted by increased demand for support from vulnerable people.
Reflecting on this, Sarah said: “We cautiously welcome the announcement about much-needed funding for the charitable sector. We wait to see the detail of the scheme and whether Headway groups will be able to access support under the scheme.”
The Chancellor also announced the publication of the long-awaited Health and Disability White Paper. Headway participated in a consultation exercise back in 2021 with the Department for Work and Pensions and called on the government to introduce specialist benefits assessors, with a greater understand of ABI.
The White Paper will lay out plans to abolish the Work Capability Assessment (WCA) via parliamentary legislation, which is proposed to be tabled in the next parliament. Details about the plans are still emerging and Headway will scrutinise proposals to understand what they mean for people living with ABI.
Headway was pleased that the Chancellor announced a postponement to the planned 20% energy bill rise following a campaign organised by Martin Lewis and supported by Headway.
Sarah added: “Postponing a hike in energy bills is good news for us all, but especially for brain injury survivors who are often amongst the most disadvantaged in society and have told us of their struggles with the cost-of-living crisis.”
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