Shropshire debt expert welcomes Budget measures as 'step in right direction'
A leading money advice expert from Shropshire has welcomed the government’s decision to extend support for families impacted by rising energy costs.
Daniel Bebbington, a Debt and Energy Manger with The Wrekin Housing Group, said: “Rising energy costs is one of the biggest concerns for the people I’m supporting here at Wrekin.
“There have been some welcome announcements – particularly that the Energy Price Guarantee will be kept at £2,500 for an additional three months from April to June, saving a typical household £160. It’s disappointing that £400 winter fuel payment will not be renewed, because that means that households' costs will still rise in the short term.
“Those people on prepayment meters will also save £45 a year on energy bills from 1 July. This will happen by bringing prepayment energy charges in line with customers who pay by direct debit. This is good news because it will help protect vulnerable households and those who have been essentially forced to have prepayment meters through no fault of their own
“Lower wholesale gas prices are expected to lead to lower household energy bills from July, where the price cap is set to be an estimated £2,100 a year for a typical household.
“It’s important to remember that the actual amount you pay will depend on things such as how much energy you use, where you live and how you pay for energy. So total bills will still rise or fall in line with your energy use.”
The government also announced that free childcare for working parents in England is to be expanded to cover one and two-year-olds.
Currently, working parents with three and four-year-olds are eligible for 30 hours of free childcare per week.
Daniel added: “Childcare costs in the UK are among the highest in the world and it’s good to see the government stepping in to provide more help for parents.
“I’ve seen first-hand how the rising childcare costs have been a barrier for some parents looking to go back to work or work full time.
“I am still real advocate for bringing back the £20 Universal Credit uplift. It made such a huge difference to the people we’ve supported here at Wrekin – and I’ve seen the devastating impact it had on people since it was scrapped last year . It was right to pay an extra £20 on Universal Credit in lockdown when circumstances were bad, they're considerably worse now due to rising bills. £20 a week might not seem like much to some people, but it was a lifeline for many of our tenants.”
Daniel is part of The Wrekin Housing Group’s Money Matters Team that offers a wealth of support to the housing association’s 28,000 tenants. So far this year, the Money Matters Team successfully secured £4.5m in extra income for Wrekin tenants – by securing Discretionary Housing Payments, writing off debt, reducing people’s utility bills and securing charitable grants.
During the last year, the team has received 2,376 requests for support – and demand for the service has increased in recent months.
Daniel added: “We are seeing a real increase in people needing our help. We are also seeing people with modest or salaries who were struggling to pay their bills.
“It’s our aim to help people early, before their financial situation gets too bad. For Wrekin tenants facing money struggles it’s important they know we are by their side to help them through – not just now, but for the many months to come.”
