Citizens Advice

THE days may be getting brighter but for many in our community coronavirus continues to take its toll on their finances and wellbeing.

Requests for employment advice have doubled compared with this time last year and we are expecting a significant increase in people seeking advice on debt problems in the coming months.

Our staff and volunteer advisers responded to the crisis with resilience and determination. Within two weeks of the first lockdown, our IT team had equipped nearly 100 volunteers and staff to work from home. Local councils and many ohers helped us with grants to buy extra IT equipment to make this possible and our managers and supervisors found new ways of supporting our workforce and keeping everyone connected.

In February this year, our advisers answered a record 836 phone calls from people needing our advice.

Since January, we have been working with the district councils to allocate supermarket vouchers and make payments to utility companies for residents who are struggling to afford food and other essentials.

We have so far allocated more than £160,000 to more than 550 households in our districts.

The grant is available until June. If you know residents who might be struggling financially, please encourage them to call our Adviceline 0300 330 9042.

More than a million people in the UK are suffering from long covid, the accepted term for coronavirus that lasts more than four weeks.

It is estimated that more than 70,000 people in this country have had covid symptoms — fatigue, breathlessness, numbness, pain or partial hearing loss — for more than a year.

If you know anyone affected, consider asking them to contact us as they may be entitled to Personal Independence Payments.

PIP is financial support for those who have an illness, disability or mental health condition, making it hard for them to do everyday tasks or get around. Income, savings and employment status don’t affect eligibility and PIP is in addition to other benefits.

For more information, visit www.citizensadvice.org.
uk/benefits/sick-or-disabled-people-and-carers/pip/

The new Breathing Space scheme came into effect in England and Wales on May 4. This gives people temporary protection from most types of debt collection while they take action to get on top of their debts.

People can apply through a debt adviser for 60 days’ “breathing space”. They must continue to engage with debt advice and not take out any new borrowing over £500 during this time.

They will also have to continue to make certain types of payments, including ongoing housing costs, utility bills and taxes. Interest and fees will be paused on debts included in Breathing Space while these conditions are met. You can only apply for Breathing Space once in a 12-month period.

Since March last year, we have trained a record 39 new volunteer advisers who are all now providing our Adviceline service from their homes.

Training manager Sally Stevens says: “As the pandemic took hold, we had to quickly modify our training to be delivered online rather than in person. I have been amazed by how our new volunteers have risen to the challenge of working from home and have helped us to continue giving people the advice they need.”

We still need more volunteers. If you have eight hours a week to spare and are looking for a satisfying and stimulating volunteer role in your local community, please contact us at www.citizensadvice.org.uk/
local/oxfordshire-south-vale/volunteer/

We would like to thank those who have helped us during this difficult year, including South Oxfordshire District Council, Oxfordshire County Council, Henley Town Council and many parish councils, many individual councillors and the Oxfordshire Community Foundation.