Holding on to small moments of joy and positivity is going to be particularly important this winter, with the cost of living and energy crises likely to continue making things difficult for people across the UK.
Psychologists from the British Psychological Society have given their advice and tips for finding the light this winter when things are feeling tough.
“We often see a rise in people feeling down or struggling as winter hits, particularly after the clocks go back, making our evenings darker, and as the cold weather begins to bite”, says Dr Joan Harvey, a chartered member of the BPS.
“This year we have more stresses and challenges than normal, with the cost of living crisis causing incredibly difficult decisions for people as they struggle with soaring prices. Increased stress in the run up to Christmas is normal, and this year even more so with budgets stretched and many re-assessing their plans.
“We hear a lot about Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD), which people sometimes experience during the winter months, and this year we might expect to see more people struggling with a combination of SAD and cost of living induced stress and worry,” adds Dr Harvey.
“There are things that we can do to manage our mental health this winter. While these tips will not tackle the incredibly difficult challenges and choices they have to make, I hope they will serve to help a few people.”
Set small goals and targets – don’t try and set yourself massive to-do lists or targets, but instead keep goals small and achievable. The sense of achievement from achieving your targets and goals can be a real boost.
Get as much daylight as possible – where you can, get outside in daylight hours for a walk or some fresh air, the more light the better. If you have flexible hours at work try to schedule some time in for a walk on your lunchbreak.
Lamps similar to daylight – these can be really effective if you are struggling to get enough daylight and it is impacting your mood. These can come on in the morning in time to wake you up, or they can be used in the evening.
Manage expectations around seasonal festivities – for many, this year will pose a really difficult financial challenge. A way to combat some of the problems we are all facing might be to go for more personalised presents, including some that you can make yourself. Anything practical can help us feel more hopeful about what we can achieve and for less money too.
Seek support if you are struggling – if you are struggling then do reach out to either a friend, family member or your GP. There is support out there and you don’t have to struggle through on your own.
Aldi is supporting local charities, foodbanks, and community groups in Edinburgh and the Lothians through its Emergency Winter Foodbank Fund this Christmas.
The supermarket’s Emergency Winter Foodbank Fund will see it donate £250,000 to help organisations as they prepare to face heightened demand on their services.
The fund builds on Aldi’s successful partnership with community engagement platform Neighbourly which enables all of Aldi’s 980 UK stores to donate surplus food seven days a week, all year round.
Aldi will also be introducing new signage in stores this Christmas to help highlight to customers the most in-demand items at foodbanks, as selected by the organisations themselves.
From early December, shoppers looking to donate to foodbanks should look out for the logo on shelves by certain items, such as baked beans, teabags and toiletries, which can then be dropped at the food donation points located by Aldi’s checkouts.
Liz Fox, Corporate Responsibility Director at Aldi UK, said:“We know that Christmas is already a particularly challenging time for many, but this year is understandably going to be even tougher for a lot of households.
“That’s why we’re more committed than ever to doing what we can to give back. We want to make food accessible for all and hope both our additional funding and donation drive will help to make a real difference in Edinburgh and the Lothians.”
Steve Butterworth, CEO of Neighbourly, added:“The cost-of-living is impacting communities up and down the country and the charities we support are expecting to see demand increase even further over the coming months.
“Without the support of the public and businesses like Aldi we’d be unable to help those in need. Within our network there are many charities and community groups that will be able to put this funding to good use, to support families that are struggling.”
Aldi’s latest commitment follows a recent survey of Neighbourly charities which revealed that 72% will need more food items to help with increased demand this Christmas.
The items that were revealed to be most in-demand, and will be promoted in store to help drive donations this Christmas, included cereal, rice and pasta, tinned food and toiletries.
Charities and community groups interested in working with Aldi should contact Neighbourly at aldi@neighbourly.com.
From today, over 11.6 million pensioners will start to receive up to £600 to help with their energy bills this winter
This support, worth over £4.5 billion, is part of an extensive package helping people of all ages with the cost of heating their homes, including through the £400 Energy Bills Support Scheme [available to eligible households in England, Scotland and Wales], and the Energy Price Guarantee saving typical households £900.
From today (23 November 2022), over 11.6 million pensioners in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland will start to receive payments of up to £600 to help with their energy bills this winter.
Winter Fuel Payments – boosted this year by an additional £300 per household Pensioner Cost of Living payment – will land in bank accounts over the next two months, the vast majority automatically.
Work and Pensions Secretary Mel Stride said: “We want to do everything we can to support pensioners who are often the most exposed to higher costs. That’s why we’re providing all pensioner households with an additional £300 on top of their Winter Fuel Payments to heat their homes and stay warm this winter.
“This extra payment is just one part of the wider support package we’re delivering to help with rising bills, including the biggest State Pension increase in history.
“Our support doesn’t stop here. As we deal with the impact of Putin’s illegal war in Ukraine and the aftermath of the pandemic, we will continue to stand by the most vulnerable, with further cost of living payments coming next year.”
The money will appear in bank statements with the payment reference starting with the customer’s national Insurance number followed by ‘DWP WFP’ for people in Great Britain, or ‘DFC WFP’ for people in Northern Ireland.
The overwhelming majority of Winter Fuel Payments are paid automatically but some people need to make a claim, such as those who qualify but do not receive benefits or the State Pension and have never previously received a Winter Fuel Payment.
This month, over seven million payments of £324 have already been made to low-income households as part of this government’s cost of living support. This includes pensioners receiving Pension Credit.
The average Pension Credit award is worth over £3,500 a year, and for those pensioners who may be eligible but are yet to make an application, there is still time to do so and qualify for this additional £324 payment.
This is because Pension Credit claims can be backdated by up to three months, provided the entitlement conditions are met throughout that time.
To ensure that a successful backdated claim falls within the qualifying period for extra £324 cost of living help, pensioners are being urged to claim Pension Credit as soon as possible, and by no later than 18 December 2022.
The online Pension Credit calculator is on hand to help pensioners check if they’re likely to be eligible and get an estimate of what they may receive.
Further cost of living support to be paid next year was announced by the Chancellor in his Autumn Statement last week. Payments will include a further £300 for pensioners, £900 for households on means-tested benefits and £150 for those on disability benefits.
Scottish Secretary Alister Jack has responded to the Chancellor’s Autumn Statement where the UK Government pledged to restore stability to the economy, protect high-quality public services and build long-term prosperity for the United Kingdom.
Jeremy Hunt outlined a targeted package of support for the most vulnerable, alongside measures to get debt and government borrowing down.
The plan he set out is designed to fight against inflation in the face of unprecedented global pressures brought about by the pandemic and the war in Ukraine.
Scottish Secretary Alister Jack said: “We are facing complex global challenges, and the Chancellor has had to take some difficult decisions. By reducing our borrowing, tackling the root causes of inflation and putting our public finances on a stable footing, we will create the economic stability we need for our long-term prosperity.
“As we promised, we have put in place extra support for those who need it most, with support on energy bills and increases in pensions, benefits and the National Living Wage.
“The Scottish Government will receive an additional £1.5 billion, to help support public services in Scotland. We are also putting extra money into two key projects in Scotland. Catapult will help grow our offshore energy capability, and a feasibility study to upgrade the A75 will pave the way for much improved connectivity between Scotland, Northern Ireland and England.”
As a result of Thursday’s tax and spending decisions, the Scottish Government will receive around an additional £1.5 billion over 2023-24 and 2024-25.
Delivering for the people of Scotland, the Chancellor has reconfirmed the UK Government’s commitment to work with the Scottish Government on options to improve the A75, in line with the findings from the Union Connectivity Review.
He also confirmed that funding for the UK’s 9 Catapult innovation centres will increase by 35% compared to the last funding cycle, this includes the offshore renewable catapult in Glasgow.
To protect the most vulnerable from the worst of cost-of-living pressures, the Chancellor announced a package of targeted support worth [£26bn], which includes continued support for rising energy bills. More than eight million households on means-tested benefits will receive a one-off payment of £900 in instalments, with £300 to pensioners and £150 for people on disability benefits.
The Energy Price Guarantee, which is protecting households throughout this winter by capping typical energy bills at £2,500, will continue to provide support from April 2023 with the cap rising to £3,000. With prices forecast to remain elevated throughout next year, this equates to an average of £500 support for households in 2023-24.
Working age benefits will rise by 10.1%, boosting the finances of millions of the poorest people in the UK, and the Triple Lock will be protected, meaning pensioners will also get an inflation-matching rise in the State Pension and the Pension Credit.
The National Living Wage will be increased by 9.7% to £10.42 an hour, giving a full-time worker in Scotland a pay rise of over £1,600 a year, benefitting 160,000 of the lowest paid workers.
The Scottish Government is receiving additional funding at the Autumn Statement for the current Spending Review period to 2024-25, but will be expected to live within these new budgets and support our mission of fiscal discipline.
To improve public finances, from 2025-26 onwards day to day spending will increase by 1% with capital spending held flat in cash terms. This means overall departmental and devolved administration budgets will continue to rise in real terms, although more slowly, increasing by 0.5% each year to 2027-28.
To raise further funds, the Chancellor has introduced tax rises of £25 billion by 2027-28. Based around the principle of fairness, all taxpayers will be asked to contribute but those with the broadest shoulders will be asked to contribute a greater share.
The threshold at which higher earners start to pay the 45p rate will be reduced from £150,000 to £125,140, while Income Tax, Inheritance Tax and National Insurance thresholds will be frozen for a further two years until April 2028.
The Dividend Allowance will be reduced from £2,000 to £1,000 next year, and £500 from April 2024 and the Annual Exempt Amount in capital gains tax will be reduce from £12,300 to £6,000 next year and then to £3,000 from April 2024.
The most profitable with the broadest shoulders will also be asked to bear more of the burden. The threshold for employer National Insurance contributions will be fixed until April 2028, but the Employment Allowance will continue protect 40% of businesses from paying any NICS at all.
In addition, the government is implementing the reforms developed by the OECD and agreed internationally to ensure multinational corporations pay their fair share of tax. And as confirmed last month, the main rate of Corporation Tax will increase to 25% from April 2023.
To ensure businesses making extraordinary profits as a result of high energy prices also pay their fair share, from 1 January 2023 the Energy Profits Levy on oil and gas companies will increase from 25% to 35%, with the levy remaining in place until the end of March 2028, and a new, temporary 45% levy will be introduced for electricity generators. Together these measures will raise over £55 billion from this year until 2027-28.
To ensure fiscal discipline while providing support for the most vulnerable, the Chancellor has introduced two new fiscal rules, that the UK’s national debt must fall as a share of GDP by the fifth year of a rolling five-year period, and that public sector borrowing in the same year must be below 3% of GDP.
Overall, the Autumn Statement improves public finances by [£55 billion] by 2027-28, and the OBR forecasts both of these rules to be met a year early in 2026-27.
‘They haven’t got a clue’: Edinburgh residents share experiences of the cost of living crisis
As spending cuts worsen, on Budget Day, Greenpeace volunteers hosted a screening of the new short film ‘The Cost of Living’.
This documentary, made by Greenpeace in partnership with the New Economics Foundation, tells the story of volunteers in food banks and community centres in the Rother Valley, Yorkshire. The film depicts how communities hard hit by the cost of living crisis are pulling together to support each other at this difficult time and how properly insulating homes can help tackle the cost of living and climate crises.
On the eve of the autumn statement, the trailer for the film was projected onto Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s house in his Yorkshire constituency to encourage him to address the issues shown in the film.
Greenpeace Edinburgh Local Group, as part of the Warm This Winter Coalition, is campaigning for the cost of living and climate crises to be solved by investing in renewable energy, properly insulating homes and providing people with the skills and training needed to deliver this green energy revolution.
Greenpeace is calling for at least £6 billion to be spent on implementing a national insulation and energy efficiency programme during this parliament. People living in poorly insulated homes will have to pay almost £1,000 more than others on their energy bills this winter.
Data from the End Fuel Poverty Coalition shows that almost a quarter (24.5%) of UK households are currently experiencing fuel poverty.
Around 20 people watched the documentary at the Grassmarket Community Project, one of more than 40 screenings taking place across the UK this winter. The screening was followed by a talk from Greenpeace speaker Issy, and a panel discussion with representatives from local organizations.
The panel was made up of Aditi Jehangir, chair of the Gorgie and Dalry branch of Living Rent, Stuart Bretherton, Energy for All Campaigner at Fuel Poverty Action and Louis Keal, an activist from Just Stop Oil.
After the panel discussion, members of the public were given advice on contacting their local MPs in Edinburgh, Ian Murray, Tommy Sheppard, Deirdre Brock, Joanna Cherry and Christine Jardine, to share how they are being affected by the sharp rise in energy and food prices.
Louis argued that the solution to the crises lies in connecting with one another and ‘finding our people power in a way we never have before,’ while Stuart reiterated the words of one of the film’s interviewees, referring to the government’s understanding of how the crisis is affecting ordinary people: ‘they haven’t got a clue’.
Zoë, a volunteer from Newington, said: ‘The Cost of Living depicts towns in the Rother Valley, but the experience of people living in Edinburgh is very similar. We are facing enormous energy bills, and more and more people are relying on the community to help put food on their table and provide a warm refuge.
“Food banks and community centres are being stretched to the limit as winter approaches. It’s vital that our MPs know how much people are struggling at the moment, but that there are solutions to this problem.
“In this week’s Budget the Government seems to have finally realised that home insulation needs to be done, but not quite how urgently we need to do it. Home insulation will make our homes permanently warmer, and our bills permanently lower, as well as reducing our carbon emissions.
“Almost a quarter of the country is in fuel poverty right now and we need an urgent insulation programme now to fix this. Ministers shouldn’t be waiting another three years to do what should have happened years ago.“
Recent polling conducted by Survation on behalf of Greenpeace shows that 68.8% of people in Scotland have had to make cuts to other spending due to rising energy bills, and 61.8% feel that their standard of living has got worse since the last general election. 83.6% of people in Scotland would support a government programme to install home insulation in their area.
A recent report by Cambridge Econometrics on behalf of Greenpeace UK, highlights how a government backed programme to insulate homes and install heat pumps could inject £6.8 billion into the economy every year and create almost 140,000 new jobs by 2030.
These green home upgrades could provide huge economic and social benefits – including to those on low incomes, older people and People of Colour, who tend to be most exposed to fuel poverty – while slashing bills and carbon emissions.
As winter approaches, families with disabled or seriously ill children face dauntingly grave financial challenges, according to latest research findings.
In its latest poll, national charity Family Fund shows how prospects for the families it supports continue to worsen, as they grapple with the ever-rising cost of living for day-to-day needs.
As the UK’s largest grant-making charity for families raising disabled and seriously ill children, on the lowest incomes, Family Fund provides essential goods and services to families including kitchen appliances, clothing, bedding, play and sensory equipment and much-needed family breaks.
Last year, it delivered over 170,919 grants and services, worth over £37 million, to families on low incomes across the UK.
The charity’s Cost of Caring report, published last month for the first time, showed deteriorating conditions for families with disabled and seriously ill children. The report covered four quarterly polls in the year that followed the pandemic.
However, the latest quarterly poll, from September this year, shows an ever worsening picture, with families facing hunger and spiralling debts as they struggle to meet the needs of their children.
Families face a triple whammy of sky-high costs on top of severely reduced incomes, due to intense caring responsibilities and three-times-higher costs to look after a disabled child.
Over 70% of parents and carers report not being able to work at all, or as much as they want to, because of the care their children need, a post-pandemic reduction in support services for children, and parents being furloughed and living on reduced benefits.
Cheryl Ward, Family Fund’s Chief Executive Officer, said:“Our latest figures show that families with disabled and seriously ill children continue to face daunting financial challenges, which are worsening as winter approaches.
“The majority of families who have been supported by Family Fund have shared with us how they are struggling to cover mounting debts and worry constantly about how they are going to clothe and feed their children, fund transport for medical appointments and heat their homes. .
“We are doing everything we can to support families whose costs are already three times higher to care for, and raise, their disabled children than costs for other children. We urge families who need support with urgent and essential items this winter to go to our website (Family Fund) to see if we can help them.”
Key findings from latest quarterly poll with UK families raising a disabled child or young person:
Impact on households:
average household income for families has fallen by over £660 in the last 12 months;
almost 60% of families (59%) report an increase in household bills of more than £100 a month;
9 in ten families report they are struggling or falling behind on household bills (92%);
one in five families (21%) say their debt levels have risen by more than £1,000 in the last 12 months;
nearly 80 per cent of families (78%) have no savings to fall back on;
75% of families say they would not be able to save £10 a month;
58% have cut or skipped meals;
40% have gone hungry because there was not enough money for food;
48% are cutting back on energy;
over one third (35%) of families are cutting back on transport costs;
over one third (31%) of households said they have gone without carpets because they can’t afford them;
11% have gone without a cooker or fridge;
23% have gone without curtains;
20% have gone without beds;
27% have used a food bank;
Impact on disabled children:
63% of families have cut back on play and recreational activities with their disabled child;
31% are cutting back on toys or sensory toys for their disabled child;
16% said they would like fresh fruit or vegetables every day for their disabled child;
10 % said they would like a warm winter coat for their disabled child;
76 % said their disabled child’s health and wellbeing had declined in some way over the last 12 months.
Greenpeace Edinburgh will be hosting a town hall event at the Grassmarket Community Project focused on the cost of living and climate crises. As part of the event, we will be showing a screening of Greenpeace’s latest documentary, “The Cost Of Living”.
This short documentary tells the story of volunteers in food banks and community centres across Rother Valley in Yorkshire. Feeling neglected and left behind by the government and facing enormous energy bills, more and more people rely on their community to help put food on their table and provide a warm refuge.
Food banks, social cafes and community centres are being stretched to the limit as winter looms large. As the women of Rother Valley try to keep their communities afloat, the government’s inaction stands in stark contrast.
Both the cost of living and climate crises can be solved by investing in renewable energy, properly insulating homes and providing people with the skills and training needed to deliver this green energy revolution.
The screening of the approx. 10 minute documentary will be followed by a panel discussion, featuring representatives from organisations including Living Rent, Just Stop Oil, Fuel Poverty Action and Leith Community Crops in Pots.
A new report has found shocking evidence that women in Scotland are suffering increasing hardship, destitution, and food insecurity due to lack of support during the cost-of-living crisis.
In research conducted in partnership, the Poverty Alliance and the Scottish Women’s Budget Group (SWBG) found that women are experiencing increasing financial hardship and are at risk of falling into further debt as a consequence of the cost-of-living crisis. Women in low-paid work reported often missing out on social security support or cost-of-living payments, or free school meals, because they earn just above income thresholds.
The research was funded by abrdn Financial Fairness Trust and Esmée Fairbairn Foundation and included women from diverse backgrounds across Scotland. Women told researchers they are worried whether they will be able to afford their energy bills in winter and parents and carers are struggling to afford food and essential items like baby wipes, incontinence pads, and toilet roll.
The report contains 15 recommendations on how to better support women through this crisis and beyond. Key priorities include:
Ensuring adequate incomes for all through a “caring social security system”;
Investing in preventative public services and in support and advice services to help people manage debt;
Improving community amenities and services, ensuring that support provided is free from stigma;
For the UK government to uplift social security in line with inflation;
For the Scottish government to expand eligibility to sources of emergency support for women experiencing in-work hardship.
SWBG co-ordinator Sara Cowan said: “The costs crisis is affecting the vast majority of us, but this powerful research highlights again the unjust way that poverty especially affects women in our society.
“Women are more likely to be poor, have lower levels of savings and wealth, and are less able to find suitable work or increase their hours if they’re in work often due to caring responsibilities that fall disproportionately on women.
“The women in this research talked about the impossible decisions they had to make to prioritise feeding their children, and whether or not to turn the heating on. Or not being able to buy things like baby wipes, incontinence pads, or toilet roll.
“The Scottish and UK Governments can help by increasing and extending the emergency support available to people, and working to put justice and compassion at the heart of social security and our public services.”
Vivienne Jackson, Programme Manager at abrdn Financial Fairness Trust, said: “This important research shines a light on the real experiences of women in Scotland. It’s not right that people are struggling to afford to feed their families, or having to live in freezing cold houses because they can’t afford to put their heating on.
“We hope this research will add to the growing body of evidence that households need much more help from government during this crisis, and that we need to make financial fairness an urgent government priority.”
Fiona McHardy, Research and Information Manager at the Poverty Alliance, said: “This research shows that women are at risk of being pushed into destitution. The financial support that has been made available so far by both UK and Scottish Governments to help with the cost-of-living crisis is clearly not sufficient for many of the women in our study.
“It is vital that the UK Government increases the value of social security benefits in line with inflation. Any cut to UK benefits will led to unacceptable hardship for more women.
“In Scotland, we must find ways to expand eligibility for people who are in employment, are in need, but miss out on support. Too many women in Scotland are in urgent need of support – Scottish Ministers must leave no stone unturned in finding resources to support them during this crisis.”
The diary entries and interviews document women’s increasing desperation and despair as costs kept rising and incomes stayed where they are.
Stella
Stella, a Black lone-parent mother living with her children. Due to illness and subsequently losing employment, she had to apply for Universal Credit two years ago.
Even before the cost-of-living crisis, she noted how Universal Credit was an ‘insufficient means of livelihood even under normal circumstances as a single parent’. Now, due to increased utility bills, Stella supplements income with credit cards, which are accruing debt, and asking to ‘borrow money from family and…friends for financial help’. Stella was concerned about her energy bills, so now she only uses the washing machine once a week for her family.
Stella’s children were conscious of rising costs: ‘even as a child [her son] realises how much food bills have increased, and it impacts him greatly’. On top of the impact this is having for her child, she shared that she is having to consider ‘significant changes in [their household’s] diet’.
Stella was becoming increasingly socially isolated because of the high cost and unreliability of public transport. Consequently, she is unable to ‘attend church every Sunday. This impacts me spiritually and deprives me of much needed interaction and social isolation’.
Her September entries were mainly focused on how price rises were impacting every aspect of her family’s life. Food was costing over £20 more each shop, and when thinking about the future, she noted: ‘it will be too much and [she] will not be able to afford it’.
Stella wrote: “This cost-of-living crisis have brought untold pain and suffering on women especially single parents and children because of the way it impacts our lives on a daily basis. Not being able to afford the essentials of life can be very stressful and robs women of their dignity and self-worth.”
Sue
Sue is a white lone parent mother who has long-term health issues. She works part-time and recently stopped accessing Employment and Support Allowance by taking on a second low-income job.
To manage increased costs of living on her low income, Sue made a list of ideas including getting another part-time job, asking for more hours in her current employment, asking for a mortgage holiday, skipping meals and selling jewellery and things in the house. She wrote: “Sad one this for me, sold jewellery, mine and my gran’s wedding rings…but it is to help in a crisis that our household is facing and needs action fast so it had to be done”.
Idia
Idia, a lone mother, reflected on the challenges of being able to afford food and going hungry in almost all her diary entries. On the small amount she receives as an asylum seeker for her family, she wondered how she is expected to be able to buy food with costs rising week by week. She shared the damaging impacts on her mental health. She also shared: “the most frustrating part of the week for me was not being able to afford to get my kids snacks”.
“I spoke to my friend who told me she has been starving and only eats at night,” Idia said. “I have started doing that though it didn’t go well with me the first day, but I will get used to it.”
Sarah
Sarah is a parent and works full-time in a role providing advice and support to people in the community. In October, she was concerned about managing her existing debts and rising energy costs, particularly as she lives in an old house with poor insulation. She is no longer able to afford to go out places and see family or friends. Her interview highlighted the challenges for people in low-paid work during the crisis. She is not entitled to benefits or support with the cost of living.
Sarah said: “And I was thinking, ‘How can I… how can I keep my daughter, how can I keep warm? What if I have to go to work and then come home and freeze my ass off every night. And I was, I honestly got to the point where I was thinking, ‘What’s the point of living?’ You were going into shops, the prices were going up so much, and it was like, ‘Well I work so God damn hard, I get no help. I’m helping people get help, do you know what I mean? But yet I can’t access any help myself?’.”
Circle has launched their ‘Sponsor the Difference’ campaign to help families cope with the effects of the cost-of-living crisis and stay warm, fed, clothed and safe this winter.
Circle is a Scottish charity working at the heart of disadvantaged communities across central Scotland. These communities are impacted by persistent poverty, social injustice, and health inequalities, problems that have only been worsened as a result of the crisis.
Families will be experiencing difficulties and hardship as the costs of energy, food, fuel, and the basic essentials of day-to-day living continue to increase. Circle have already seen an increase in accessing additional support for heating and food and this is only going to worsen over the winter months.
“It’s been a real pressure with rising prices. I reckon my food bill has gone up by a third. I’d like to batch cook and freeze things but that increases my electricity bill. It’s tight providing food for the family, I try to buy sensibly, using all the yellow labels but the prices mean there’s no scope for any unexpected bills like when the washing machine broke. I worry about the winter and how we’ll cope.”- Parent
The families Circle support desperately need material aid – food, clothing, and money for energy bills. They also need whole family support, that will give them the guidance, skills, and resources to cope with the emotional and psychological effects of the cost-of-living crisis.
Therefore, the charity has launched their winter campaign – Sponsor the Difference – to ask for donations to help children and families in desperate need cope with the cost-of-living crisis.
Families supported by Circle’s work were heavily involved in the creation of the campaign by providing examples of how they’ve been affected by the crisis and participating in case studies to share their experiences to raise awareness of the challenges they face and reminding others that they aren’t alone.
This is part of Circle’s participation strategy, to give children and families they work with the confidence and opportunity to have their voices heard and be listened to.
All donations will go towards purchasing energy cards, food vouchers and warm winter clothes for families to help them make it through one of the harshest winters they have ever faced.
The charity highlighted the issues facing many of their families across Challenge Poverty Week and are using the Winter Campaign to continue to spread awareness of the detrimental impact that the cost-of-living crisis is having on families across Scotland.
Circle CEO, Mark Kennedy said “While Challenge Poverty Week did help to highlight the effects that poverty has on too many families across Scotland, we remain very conscious of the need to keep helping the families that do not have the means to afford the basic necessities of life.
“At Circle, we will remain focused on helping families to eat, keep warm, and ensure that children have what they need to attend school through one of the harshest winters they have ever faced.”
A £10 donation could cover the rise in gas and electricity bills for a family for one week, and they have many more examples of how a little from you could go a long way for a family.
“Problems in the energy supply market were apparent in 2018 – years before the unprecedented spike in prices that sparked the current crisis, and Ofgem was too slow to act.“
In a report published today Westminster’s Public Accounts Committee calls on the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy and Ofgem to say how they will make “the energy retail market work in the best interests of customers during the transition to net zero” after finding that failures at the energy regulator have come “at a considerable cost to billpayers”.
Since July 2021, 29 energy suppliers have failed, affecting around 4 million households. Customers have been left to pay the £2.7 billion cost of supplier failures. This means an extra £94 per household, a cost that will very likely increase.
The Committee found that this was due to “Ofgem’s failure to effectively regulate the energy supplier market”.
Ofgem “did not strike the right balance between promoting competition in the energy suppliers market and ensuring energy suppliers were financially resilient”.
Despite problems with the financial resilience of energy retailers emerging in 2018 Ofgem did not tighten requirements for new suppliers until 2019, and for existing suppliers until 2021. By this point wholesale gas and electricity prices increased to unprecedented levels.
The price cap “is providing only very limited protection to households from increases in the wholesale price of energy”, and Ofgem expects prices could “get significantly worse through 2023”. The Committee says BEIS and Ofgem should “review the costs and benefits of the price cap from a consumer’s perspective” to inform decisions about the future of energy price controls.
The position of vulnerable customers, who already pay higher energy prices, is “unacceptable”.
Dame Meg Hillier MP, Chair of the Public Accounts Committee, said: “ “It is true that global factors caused the unprecedented gas and electricity prices that have caused so many energy supplier failures over the last year, at such terrible cost to households. But the fact remains that we have regulators to set the framework to shore us up for the bad times.
“Problems in the energy supply market were apparent in 2018 – years before the unprecedented spike in prices that sparked the current crisis, and Ofgem was too slow to act.
“Households will pay dear, with the cost of bailouts added to record and rising bills. The PAC wants to see a plan, within six months, for how Government and Ofgem will put customers’ interests at the heart of a reformed energy market, driving the transition to Net Zero.”
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