Many people are facing problems due to the rising cost of living, with energy bills, fuel costs, and basic food costs all increasing. We have collated some suggestions and links to organisations and resources that can help here.
Age UK Cornwall and Isles of Scilly operates Cornwall Link that hosts community listings across a wide variety of subjects from many different organisations. At present they have a topic area devoted to cost of living support, including events, give-aways, advice and practical support. You can access it here.
Community hubs are central points that provide support and contact for their communities. They are places where people can come together. The hub network offers safe and warm places for people to socialise and take part in activities. There is a Google map listing all the community hubs, including opening times and contact details available here.
Local churches, faith groups, community centres, businesses and more are taking part in the Warm Welcome Scheme by opening their doors to allow people to come and use their spaces, to be warm, and have some food rather than heating their own homes. There is an extensive and growing list on the website available here.
Transformation Cornwall is supporting the Warm Welcome Scheme, and has links to community hubs and Warm Welcome venues available here.
There are extensive money-saving tips, around energy, and other topics, and the latest news on the Government’s support packages available here and here for their Cost of Living section.
There are a variety of support resources on the Cornwall Council website, including the annual Winter Wellbeing campaign. This has tips for keeping warm and well across the colder months, money-saving tips for energy bills, as well as contact details for other organisations that can help. You can access the pages here.
A dedicated Cost of Living Support page is available here with lists of financial help for those struggling, free school meals, help with food, tips for saving money, and more.
You can find out about the Household Support Fund here. The fund was launched in December 2022 to provide one-off payments for pensioners on pensions credit and families receiving free school meals.
A list of all local food banks and their opening times, including those that accept people who do not have food vouchers is available here.
Cornwall Council and a selection of other organisations in Cornwall have produced a leaflet called Worrying About Money? for those who are struggling to make ends meet. You can download it here from the Council’s website.
NHS Healthy Start vouchers are available for families with children under 4 years, or for those more than 10 weeks pregnant. Information is available here.
The council has produced a fridge safety poster to explain to people why turning off the fridge to save electricity is hazardous. You can download it here.
The Inclusion Cornwall Resource library has a host of specific resource sheets, including – debt and crisis funding, cost of living, wellbeing and food, clothing and wood banks, and more. You can access the resource sheets here.
There have been a series of announcements from the Government regarding support with energy bills, extra support for people with disabilities, Cost of Living payments and more. The information about these and other available support is on the government’s Help for Households Hub. You can access it here.
Money Helper, formerly the Money Advice Service, also has some helpful advice and calculators or tools, particularly around debt, budgeting and pensions guidance. You can access it here.
Information about the Cost of Living Payment and how people receive it is available from the Department of Work and Pensions. Please note scammers have been attempting to take advantage of the confusion around this payment and there is advice on this page about how to avoid scams. The real payment system will not ask you to do anything, whether call, click a link, email, or fill in a form in order to receive cost of living payments as they are made automatically. You can read the details of how payments will be made here.
Advice on avoiding scammers can be also be found through the following organisations:
• Citizens Advice
• Action Fraud
• Stop Scams
For older people claiming Pensions Credit if you are entitled to it is important. It opens the door to a lot of other help. For others, especially if you’re on Universal Credit, there is further support available. Various organisations offer ‘entitlement checkers’ to help people find out what they can be claiming. Some of these are available below:
The Good Law Project provides various factsheets on understanding your energy bill, available discounts and benefits. You can find out more here and here.
All energy and water providers are obliged to keep a Priority Services Register for vulnerable customers. This could include people who are elderly, disabled, or require electricity for medical equipment. They are required to give special service to those people and will prioritise reconnecting them in the event of a power cut or outage. Contact your provider for more information. Many local banks are also offering support for people experiencing financial difficulties. Visit your bank’s website or visit your local branch for advice.
Community Energy Plus is a social enterprise that provides energy solutions to help householders in Cornwall to enjoy warmer and more energy efficient homes. They have extensive factsheets around a variety of energy-related subjects including Saving energy and money and support with rising living costs. These are specific to Cornwall, and were updated in the summer of 2022. You can find out more here.
National Citizens Advice has a page of useful links and information on benefits, debt and help with essential costs. There is also information on grants and benefits that are available to help people pay their energy bills. You can find out more here and here.
Cornwall Citizens Advice has offices across the county and may be able to help you There contact details are available below:
Textline: Text ADVICE to 78866 or for debt issues text DEBT to 78866 and they will call you back within 48 hours (excluding weekends).
Phone: 0800 144 8848 Mon-Fri 10am to 4pm. FREE
Or visit their website here.
The Royal British Legion launched a grant scheme in November 2022 for armed services personnel, veterans and their families who are struggling to pay their energy bills. The initiative will provide non-repayable emergency grants of up to £2,400 a year (£200 a month), and is available across the UK.
Eligibility apply but you can check if you’re eligible on their website, or by calling the helpline available here.
Telephone 0808 802 8080
The National Age UK website has specific advice for older people, including around energy. You can find out more here.
Money Saving Expert provides all sorts of financial advice. See particularly the sections on household bills, deals and shopping (with a Free and cheap food page) and ‘Income and budgeting’, as well as the sections for Energy Help and Students. There is also a news page about energy grants that people can claim. Find out more here.
Which consumer guide has compiled a selection of articles around energy, financial advice, saving money on essentials and money saving tips. There is also a list of shops and businesses offering various types of support, including free meals and discounts. You can find out more here and here.
British Gas Energy Trust offers grants to clear debt on outstanding energy bills for people who meet certain criteria and who can show evidence of being able to make energy payments in future (once the debt is cleared). They have full details of how to prove this on their website available here.
GoCompare has developed an interactive energy cost calculator tool to find out how much something costs to run. You can use the calculator to pick the appliances you want to compare and select how long they’ll be in use for here.
A selection of mostly financial advice including consolidating debt, budgeting, and how to save is available from Unbiased here.
