The cost of living
Our briefing on the cost of living is out now
It has been three since COVID-19 first hit, and the UK is still facing another crisis. Inflation is at its highest level since the early 1980s and increasing food, fuel and energy prices mean people are struggling to pay their bills and make ends meet. This in turn is having a negative impact on many different aspects of people’s lives.
To explore how this crisis is affecting the people of North Yorkshire, we gathered experiences through surveys and one-to-one conversations with individuals and those organisations offering support. We wanted to know:
- How are you coping financially?
- What are you most worried about?
- As a support organisation, what are people telling you they are most concerned about?
- What is the impact on your well-being?
- What is helping so far and what else could be done?
What you told us
- 62% of you said you were struggling or will start to struggle as the costs continue to rise and winter approaches.
- There is increased strain on organisations to deliver when funding is running short there are higher running costs and increased needs to meet.
- There are increased concerns for those most vulnerable within society such as people with a long-term health condition or disability, older people, and low-income families with children.
- The negative health impacts that will result will only further exacerbate the winter pressures the health and care sectors are facing.
Those we have helped with crisis support has already exceeded the rate from the past three years; we are now helping two people every minute
What help is there?
There is great work being done by district councils, support organisations and North Yorkshire County Council. They have developed a dedicated cost of living webpage that outlines the different schemes and assistance available from across the council, such as the North Yorkshire Local Assistance Fund which provides emergency financial support to those unable to meet essential living costs, such as energy bills or food. The webpage also includes details of other organisations who can help people in immediate financial crisis. This includes those who can provide professional advice on debt, help with the cost of food and heating bills, as well as details of funding schemes to help meet the cost of insulating homes. The page also contains information for families needing to access free Wi-Fi for children’s schoolwork, or people looking to save money on their commute by signing up to a lift share scheme.
Further resources available
Find a community support organisation
We support people in fuel poverty and have seen a large rise in people needing help; we've had almost as many calls over a three-month period (975) as there were for the whole of the previous year (1,103).
