Citizens Advice has for the third month in a row broken its bleak record for providing crisis support.
In March 2022 so far, the charity referred 24,752 people to food banks or to other charitable support, up by 44% compared to the same time last year.
Research from the charity has revealed that around five million people will be unable to pay their energy bills from April even accounting for the support the government has already announced. This number will almost triple, to 1 in 4 people in the UK – over 14 million – when the price cap rises again in October based on current predictions.
With the cost-of-living crisis ramping up, Citizens Advice frontline advisers from opposite ends of the country have shared their perspective on the problems rising costs are causing.
Conal, an adviser for Citizens Advice in Blackpool, which according to government figures is the most deprived council in England said:
“Heat or eat choices were sadly common in Blackpool even before price hikes, but the stories are getting worse.
“One person we helped had a broken boiler they couldn’t afford to fix so they were boiling the kettle and washing themselves in the sink. Another couldn’t cover the cost of using the oven or hob so they’re surviving on microwave meals. Parents have resorted to handwashing clothes and skipping meals just so they can provide for their kids.
“We do our absolute best to give people support and advice, but sometimes we’re running up against a brick wall. People simply don’t have enough to cover the basics and a fuel voucher or food bank referral can only go so far.”
Dame Clare Moriarty, Chief Executive of Citizens Advice, said:
“The energy price cap rise will be potentially ruinous for millions of people across the country. It comes just as another new, bleak record is set for people needing crisis support from Citizens Advice.
“The support announced so far from the government simply isn’t enough for those who’ll be hit hardest. With the long-anticipated price rises now hitting, many more people will face the kind of heart-rending choices that our frontline advisors already see all too often.”
