CAB - Household finances without “room to manoeuvre”
14 Apr 2014 11:45 AM
With a survey commissioned by Shelter showing
today that as many as 3.8 million families do not have the savings to keep up
with housing costs in the event of a month’s missed pay, Citizens Advice
has said that there is “little or no room for manoeuvre” in
household budgets.
Citizens Advice Chief
Executive, Gillian Guy, said:
"There is little or no room for manoeuvre for
people with stretched household budgets. Many are still feeling the effects of
the recession as low wages and high costs means people face a daily battle to
make ends meet. A month without a pay cheque because of an unexpected
redundancy or work drying up can easily prove disastrous.
“The loss of a home is all too real a threat for
those only just managing to keep up with the rent or their mortgage. Last year
Citizens Advice saw a 16 per cent rise in social housing rent arrears and a 26
per cent increase in threats of house repossession for social housing tenants.
Changes to Housing Benefit and Council Tax Support have put some people in even
more difficult financial positions. Enquiries about Discretionary Housing
Payments to Citizens Advice Bureaux have risen by 110 per cent in just one
year. More affordable homes need to be built to stop housing costs rising even
further.
“Changes to
emergency support mean many people don’t know where to go for help, and
for some, the help they need is no longer there. The availability of support
for people in crisis situations must be made crystal
clear.”
Citizens Advice
Notes to editors:
- This year the Citizens Advice service celebrates its
75th anniversary. We’ve planned a year of activity running from January
to December 2014. Contact the press office to find out more.
- The
Citizens Advice service comprises a network of local bureaux, all of which are
independent charities, the Citizens Advice consumer service and national
charity Citizens Advice. Together we help people resolve their money, legal and
other problems by providing information and advice and by influencing
policymakers. For more see the Citizens Advice website.
- The
advice provided by the Citizens Advice service is free, independent,
confidential, and impartial, and available to everyone regardless of race,
gender, disability, sexual orientation, religion, age or
nationality.
- To
find your local bureau in England and Wales, visit www.citizensadvice.org.uk. You can
also get advice online atwww.adviceguide.org.uk
- You
can get consumer advice from the Citizens Advice consumer service on 08454 04
05 06 or 08454 04 05 05 for Welsh language speakers
- Citizens Advice Bureaux in England and Wales advised 2.1
million clients on 6.6 million problems from April 2012 to March 2013. For full
2012/2013 service statistics see our quarterly publication Advice trends
- Citizens Advice service staff are supported by more than
22,000 trained volunteers, working at over 3,000 service outlets across England
and Wales.