With the looming cost of living crisis these stories seemed uncomfortably relevant. When I was in Carlisle residents were feeling the effects of the recently introduced so-called Bedroom Tax with locals relying on charity and after I had moved to Penrith there was the added impact of almost a decade of austerity and Universal Credit with an increased use of food banks. Fast forward three years and there are even more increased costs on families across the country such as increased fuel bills and today’s increase in National Insurance.

Charity shop hailed lifeline as families forced to cut spending

CASH woes are worsening on an estate blighted by low income and dogged by debt.

Those at the forefront of tackling problems in Botcherby, Carlisle, say there ’s mounting evidence that families are becoming increasingly hard-pressed.

A charity shop has been hailed a lifeline as people cut spending and avoid plunging deeper into the red.

Official figures show that 17 per cent of people who have sought help from Cumbria’s Money Advice Service so far this year are from Botcherby.

A county council study has also found that 18.2 per cent of all households on the estate also have incomes of less than £10,000.

The picture painted by the figures is one that those in the community recognised.

Lynn Taylor, the voluntary relief manager at the Botcherby Op Shop in Durranhill Road, said the situation was getting worse for people.

She said: “It’s just the general day-to-day stuff, living and trying to survive. They don’t really say that they are in debt but that they are struggling to pay their gas or electricity bills. They are struggling to put food on the table day after day.”

The 41-year-old from Borland Avenue said the Op Shop has a debt service which offered advice and could point people in the right direction for help.

She added that she had heard that payday lenders were even targeting people by text message. She said: “It’s going to get worse.”

Lesley O’Donohoe, who volunteers at the shop, said that parents could under pressure from their children to spend money in the run up to Christmas.

She added: “This shop is good for a lot of people up here. People get worried about Christmas. It’s hard for people. My daughter works full time and even she says it’s a struggle.”

More than 1500 families are struggling with debts amounting to a total of £3.4m across north and west Cumbria.

The number of people using the Money Advice Service in Cumbria has also risen significantly over the past six months.

George Cornish, a 67-year-old from nearby Sinclair Court who is the secretary of the North West Tenants and Residents Assembly, said that people were being hit by the so-called bedroom tax.

As part of government welfare reforms introduced in April tenants face cuts the amount of housing benefit they get if they have a spare bedroom in their council or housing association home.

Mr Cornish said: “We have a high proportion of people that will be virtually destitute. There aren’t any one-bedroom places to put them.”

There are five Op Shops in the Carlisle area which are operated by the Carlisle Diocesan Charity Shop Network.

Jon Greenwood, the network ’s business development manager, said Botcherby was an area with a lot of social housing.

He said that the danger of payday loans was that customers signed up for Continuous Payment Authority – allowing lenders to take money direct from people’s accounts.

“During the interview process they see the day your benefits come into your bank account,” he said. “The loan company is able to get hold of your money ahead of priority debts such as rent.”

Helen Fisher, the manager of Botcherby Community Centre in Victoria Road, said people were struggling and the credit union based at the centre was well used.

She said: “People do take advantage of the loan system – it’s a sensible way of borrowing. People feel more confident when it is in the heart of your community.”

The report showed that the average debt-ridden family in Carlisle owes £12,700.

Across west Cumbria and Carlisle, a total of 1661 families have sought help with debts – some foodbanks have seen demand soar by 70 per cent.

Debt Advice:

CITIZENS Advice offers free and confidential debt advice by telephone for residents living in Cumbria.

The locations covered include: Carlisle, Keswick and Penrith.

The advice line is staffed by specialist advisers who provide a full debt management and advice service. They can also deal with all kinds of problems including urgent debt matters and bankruptcy.

Advisers can:

• Talk through the options available based on the particular situation;
• Help prioritise debts to make sure that the most urgent issues are dealt with promptly;
• Help to budget accurately to work out how much a person can afford to pay;
• Negotiate with creditors on the individual’s behalf;
• Refer the person to see an adviser face to face at a local Citizens Advice Bureau;
• For further information contact 0300 3333445.

The advice line is open from 9am until 5pm, Monday to Friday, and calls from landlines or mobiles are charged at standard local call rates.

The service was made possible thanks to £1.5m funding provided by the Northern Rock Foundation.

Andy Auld, from the Carlisle branch of the Citizens’ Advice Bureau, said he was not surprised by the figures because a number of indicators had consistently shown Botcherby as one of the most deprived areas in Carlisle. He added: “Anyone considering credit needs to make sure that it’s affordable credit.”

Mr Auld said it was a good idea to shop around and get at least three quotes to compare which offers the best deal.

From The Cumberland News on Friday, December 13, 2013.

Food bank demand is rising in Eden

DEMAND at food banks in Eden has risen over the past few months, with organisers in both Penrith and Appleby confirming rises in requests for help.

A number of organisations — including food banks, Citizens Advice and the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) — are working together to see how they can better help people in need.

Majors Carole and Alan Donaldson, who run the Salvation Army’s food bank in Hunter Lane, Penrith, say there has been a noticeable increase in demand since October.

During one week in January they dealt with 20 requests for help from single people, couples and families.

Carole said the parcels handed out contained enough food to last five days, including three meals as well as snacks for each day, and items such as toiletries. She said: “We’ve got some people that are coming back every week.”

People are referred to the food bank for a variety of reasons, including debt and money management problems, changes or delays with benefits, sickness and low income.

Carole said a wait of up to five weeks before claimants received Universal Credit (UC) benefit was also a factor.

“From what people are telling us there is that period of time,” she said. “We are meeting someone from the DWP to see how we can work together to support people. I think money management is a problem if they’ve gone from being paid fortnightly to monthly.”

In some cases the problem was made worse because people did not want to ask for help. “People are very proud, I think. People get to the point of crisis before they are asking for help but a lot of people don’t know where to go for help,” said Carole.

Alan added: “There’s that issue of ‘I’ve got to go to the food bank to survive’ — it’s an embarrassment. The Salvation Army has a history of supporting the vulnerable.”

One Penrith woman in her 40s, who did not wish to give her name, said that without help from the food bank she would be “lost”. The food parcels had helped to keep her going at a time of need.

The operation is helped by a team of volunteers including Jane Storer, from Penrith.

She finds the work both rewarding and frustrating because of how many people are in need of help. “The number of parcels that we are giving out has gone up. People are so generous — we’ve got lots of stuff but we always need more,” she said.

Fellow volunteer David Martin, who is 56 and from Stainton, said he had been helping for around 18 months. “It’s rewarding and it makes you appreciate what you have got,” he said.

A spokeswoman for the Upper Eden Food Bank, which has been running since 2013 and covers an area which includes Kirkby Stephen, Appleby and Tebay, said it had also seen an increase in the demand for help with food provision — with the general trend of rising numbers regularly due to problems associated with accessing UC.

She added: “During the past three and a half months Upper Eden Foodbank has fed 157 adults and children. Despite the upward trend in take-up of food from the food bank there is almost always sufficient food stocks due to the generosity of local people and organisations.”

Jon Cook, the manager at Christians Against Poverty’s Eden debt centre in Wordsworth Street, Penrith, said a number of food parcels were kept at the premises in case of need.

He said he had seen an increase in requests for appointments by people asking for debt advice since the beginning of the autumn. “Our waiting list has increased for first visits,” he added.

Andy Auld, chief executive of Citizens Advice Carlisle and Eden, said he had also seen an increase in the use of food banks in Eden over the past 12 months and one of the causes was UC and the system of sanctioning benefits.

He added: “We are also seeing people at risk of being homeless who have not been spending money on food in order to try to make rent payments or pay off arrears accrued because of, for instance, the bedroom tax.

“We have had very positive experiences and outcomes when we have contacted Eden District Council or Eden Housing Association in these circumstances.

“Discretionary housing payments, administered by Eden District Council, can help with rent shortfalls and have often made the difference between people being able to afford housing costs or facing possible homelessness.”

Shane Byrne, the DWP’s employer and partnership manager for the Eden area, said food banks across the county were experiencing an increase in demand and often gave UC as a potential cause of hardship and a significant reason for accessing support.

He added: “This was often in localities where UC new claims were suspended and no new claims were being taken and clients were being directed to heritage benefits. As UC has rolled out in Cumbria we have sought to ensure we are fully supporting vulnerable clients to the best of our ability.

“As part of that activity we have engaged in a pilot initially in Carlisle where partner organisations issuing vouchers to clients to take to the food bank were asked to identify if DWP issues were the cause for the request.

“They then referred the client’s information back to us, with consent, for immediate review so we could deliver support and rectify any fault. Numbers have been relatively low but on occasion we have indeed fixed the issue identified immediately.”

He said they would be meeting with representatives from food banks in March to review work to ensure no vulnerable client was struggling due to DWP issues. The scheme is to be extended into a number of areas, including Upper Eden.

From the Cumberland & Westmorland Herald on Saturday, February 2, 2019.