Calls to Citizens Advice up by a third in parts of Greater Manchester
Bosses at the charity say calls about energy bills have soared
Last updated 8th Sep 2022
The number of people calling Citizens Advice across Greater Manchester has increased by more than a third since the start of the pandemic.
The number one issue people are calling for support about has also shifted from council tax to energy bills.
Citizens Advice say their data shows that, based on current price forecasts, 1 in 4 people in the UK won’t be able to afford their energy bills in October.
They add, when the price cap rises again in January, the figure could jump to 1 in 3 (34%).
Steve Hughes, Chief Operating Officer at Citizens Advice Stockport, Oldham, Rochdale and Trafford said:
"If we compare our data from now to 2019, we're seeing 30% or 40% increase in the number of calls that we're answering on a day-to-day basis.
"If we look at the picture across the four areas we cover, our biggest debt issue was always council tax. Now, it is energy-related, that has changed significantly.
"This isn't something completely new, energy debt has been an underlying issue that's been growing for a number of years and now we are now at the pinnacle."
Later today, new Prime Minister Liz Truss is expected to set out her plans to tackle the cost of living crisis.
She's widely expected to announce a freeze on energy prices which it is hoped will shield households from an increase in bills in October.
Bills set to rise by another 80%
Last month, energy regulator Ofgem raised the energy price cap by 80%, bringing the average total per year to £3,549 by next month.
Steve says there are a number of issues he would like the governement to look at again:
"I think we would recognise there are particular groups that will still see significant increases in their bills if no further support is provided.
We would ask the government to revisit whether the right level of support and the boost support is right in the particular groups where they have high energy costs."
For example, for families with children, we'd be asking for a one-off grant for those on child benefits.
Addiontially, people with disabilities who require enhanced energy costs, especially those that are pensioners and have those long-term disabilities that require a winch or breathing equipment, for example.
We're also really keen to make sure that people are stopped being forced onto pre-payment meters.
If you're behind on your monthly bills an energy company might come in and say you need to go to a pay-as-you-go meter. We would ask the government to do we stop that from happening because it does impact someone's long-term energy sustainability.