There were more than 11,000 calls for help to Citizens’ Advice across Adur and Worthing, says the charity.
Citizens’ Advice (also known as CAB) provides confidential information and advice to residents to help them with issues including debt, housing, and benefits.
Between 2020 and 2021, the Adur and Worthing CAB branch received more than 11,500 calls for advice.
The most common issues were benefits, universal credit, consumer rights, debt, financial services, employment, and housing rights.
CAB said the case load was ‘significant’ but it added that ‘significant additional funds’ are now coming into West Sussex as a result of residents accessing their full benefits.
Face-to-face advice was limited during the pandemic but is now ‘growing in demand again’, says the charity.
Adur District Council and Worthing Borough Council have this month extended a contract with CAB so it can continue to provide advice to residents for a further seven years.
CAB said the most common debt issue for Adur and Worthing residents over the past year was energy debt.
Nationally, the charity has seen an increase in demand for its services and the number of people it refers for crisis support has been ‘record breaking’.
In July, CAB saw the highest ever number of people who were unable to top up their energy prepayment meter.
Its chief executive, Dame Clare Moriarty, said the situation would get ‘far, far worse’ without further action from central government.
“It’s becoming increasingly clear that skyrocketing prices will swallow up all of the help that has been announced so far,” she said.
Earlier this year the government announced financial support for households and ministers met this week to discuss winter preparations to meet the rising cost of living and pressures on services, such as the NHS.
A summary of the financial support currently available to households can be found here: https://helpforhouseholds.campaign.gov.uk/help-with-your-bills/
Citizens’ Advice offers free help and advice at both the Shoreham Centre and Worthing Town Hall.
More information can be found here: https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/
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