More working people in Swansea who are struggling with energy and council tax bills are turning to a debt and consumer charity for help, councillors have been told.
Caroline Newman, chief officer of Citizens Advice Swansea Neath Port Talbot, said her colleagues helped a high proportion of people of colour, including some in desperate need.
Life-saving intervention
Addressing a panel of councillors, Ms Newman said a person of colour "not wanting to be of this world anymore" had been found temporary accommodation by a Citizens Advice volunteer and council housing staff a couple of months ago. "Without being too dramatic, between ourselves and the local authority we saved the guy's life," she said.
Ms Newman said the volunteer who helped had been the victim of racist abuse. He was a doctor in his country of origin, she said, and couldn't work in the UK as he was seeking asylum. Councillor Lyndon Jones, who chairs the scrutiny panel looking into the cost of living, said racism anywhere was "absolutely unacceptable".
Rising energy debt
Ms Newman said more people in work were coming to it for advice than ever before. "Energy debt is the common (reason), followed by council tax," she said.
Ms Newman said overall enquiries about energy debt were a concern because they were on the rise prior to the most recent energy price cap hike on October 1. Citizens Advice could, she said, issue fuel vouchers to people in need as long as they were on a pre-payment meter.
Cllr Mair Baker said she uses a pre-payment meter and that one advantage was being able to judge which appliances used more energy by watching how the credit came down. She said her pre-payment tariff was "not bad value for money" and that some young parents she knew were ditching quarterly energy payments because of debt and opting for pre-payment meters.
Ms Newman said pre-payment energy tariffs were higher than other payment types and that having a smart meter helped people understand which appliances used most energy.
Benefit and debt queries above average
She also said the number of employment-related enquiries were on the increase, potentially due to changes in the Employment Rights Act, and that debt generally in Swansea was growing. She said early intervention, such as helping people with debt payment plans, was very important.
Ms Newman said enquiries to Citizens Advice about benefit support in Swansea were 4.3% higher than the Welsh average and that debt advice queries were 2% higher. She said there was a perception among some members of the public that Citizens Advice was "just helping benefits scroungers" while others said it helped those in need.
Citizens Advice in the city operates from Y Storfa in Oxford Street, from 9am to 4pm Monday to Friday for pre-booked appointments, with drop-in sessions from 10am to noon. Ms Newman said staff have successfully helped people claim benefits to which they're entitled, including pension credit and a type of social care payment called 'attendance allowance'.
Cllr Jones said getting people into work was one of the best ways of helping and that there were good examples of initiatives that supported new employees after they'd landed their new role to help keep them in it.
The meeting heard that barriers to asking for help included shame and embarrassment, a lack of awareness or a lack of digital skills - not just among older people. Cllr Baker said younger people who used social media platforms like TikTok could get "quite lost trying to fill in an online form".
Samaritans can be contacted for free, day or night, 365 days a year, on 116 123, or visit samaritans.org to find your nearest branch.
