Money problems rising

Mary Youlden
Authored by Mary Youlden
Posted Saturday, August 30, 2014 - 5:24pm

Local charity Exeter Citizens Advice Bureau today publishes its latest advice trend statistics which shows that at the end of July 2014 it helped 2090 people directly with advice and information in the first four months of the financial year.

The amount of advice that the charity has been able to provide has increased in the following areas compared to the same period last year:

Welfare benefit enquires
• 59.4% increase about local support for council tax
• 34.7% increase about tax credits
• 30.7% increase about attendance allowance
• 27.2% increase about housing benefit

Debt enquiries
• 110% increase about mortgage arrears
• 101.7% increase about bankruptcy/debt relief orders
• 84.3% increase about payday loans
• 21.9% increase about telephone and broadband arrears

Employment enquires
• 65.7% increase about pay and entitlements
• 54.2% increase about terms and conditions of employment
• 29.7% increase about dismissal

Housing enquires
• 166.6% increase about owner occupier property
• 118.1% increase about housing association properties
• 96.5% increase about private sector property

Exeter CAB Chief Executive Steve Barriball said: “As we add additional advice services, we are able to help even more people with their advice needs. On this basis, we would expect to see increases in the number of enquiries that we deal with. This is particularly true for the Exeter Money Advice Partnership (EMAP) service which is delivered by ourselves and Homemaker Southwest in partnership with Exeter City Council in their Customer Service Centre. The EMAP service is helping more people with debt and welfare benefit problems. However, some of the increases we have seen are not so easily explained.”

Steve continued: “It’s good news that things are looking up on the economic front, but for many individuals and families the legacy of recession remains. The combination of squeezed wages, the impact of welfare reform, and rising energy and childcare costs will not be erased overnight. Pressures on household budgets are continuing to make things difficulty for our clients. An increase of over 100% in enquires about mortgage arrears tells its own story about the concerns of some homeowners. Moreover, good news on the jobs front in terms of falling unemployment is very welcomed. However, these figures suggest that for people in work they still have serious concerns over job security and terms and conditions”

Steve finished by saying: “We are committed to continue to provide the advice people need for the problems they face. However, we can only continue to do this if we have the necessary resources and we need to increase public and business donations. Anyone wishing to support our work can donate on-line by going to the Donation Support section of our website.”  

Alternatively, donations can be made in person at the new Bureau offices on Dix’s Field in Exeter.

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