(Janine Maher)
Certainly at the Morning Pension Service. We are currently working on a UK and strategy for financial well-being, so this is very much where our heads are at, at the moment and focusing on not only the longer term ambition to improve financial wellbeing across the UK, but what the impact radius is having on people's ability to manage their money and make those decisions so a lot of the research we're showing and an seeing at the moment is really showing that not everybody is in the same boat, and we're all in this same situation, but not everybody is impacted in the same way. But those people that are really at risk of seeing their financial well-being decline are a particular group of people and we are saying low income workers, for example, because their jobs are seven times more likely to be at risk of furlough or loss of jobs.
We are seeing huge impacts for younger people aged under 25, because they are 2 1/2 times more likely the workers over 25 to be in sectors that are affected by shutdown and closures. And two or three times more likely of credit cards or loans greater than the over 25. We’re also saying women in employment. A third more likely than men to being shut down sector. Ethnic minorities are more likely to be impacted because of the sectors that they work in. Parents with dependent children are twice as likely as those without children to feel that they will struggle to make their ends meet in the current situation. And as someone else had mentioned, there are renters and people in the private and social sector are in difficulty and serious financial difficulty making up huge numbers across the UK.
(Paula Bradshaw)
I think there is really two groups, there is the individuals and I think the contributors so far have mentioned a lot of the stuff around access to food banks. One of the stark things that came out during the first lockdown was that new people were coming forward that they had never met before and they were sort of being alerted by the partnerships community response in that, so they advertised this sort of helpline, they have rang up and it turned out you know these are people who probably lived a more affluent, a perceived affluent parts of the constituency who were living alone and the carers were turning up and there was no food in the cupboard to make a meal and stuff and so I think there is a lot of hidden poverty out there that is probably on our side during this and we have no idea the extent of that.
There is a mental health pandemic out there as well as a financial crisis coming.
(Paula Bradley)
I am our parties lead on department for communities, which falls into much of what you are talking about here as well I guess pretty much the same as Paula and same experiences. So, I have seen people especially is recent months who are really just, I worry about their mental health. I have had people cry in the office just for complete and utter fear for their future and how they are going to, people that you would never ever got into your office before, like Paula said a different mix of people particularly people that maybe had or have their own businesses, small businesses, single traders things like that and who just were the complete fear and anguish and frustration that those people have. And I mean our jobs have been very difficult and quite often having to say I don’t know, I don’t know the answer to that, and you know and that has just been dreadful, just dreadful. And then as Paula has said we have had a few issues to do with rent, private rentals who’s, came to agreements with their landlords about reduced rent or land lords who are maybe getting mortgage holidays and now all of a sudden it is we need that money back and we need it now, you owe me. You know, you owe me whatever, £2000, £3000 for rent you haven’t paid, it must be paid within 1 month you know. Not even willing to come to agreements with people so we are kind of trying to mediate on those cases and trying to point out that, well actually you don’t have to do this, the law is there to protect you at the moment from eviction and stuff like that. So, I do have a worry now going forward around people who own their own homes. I think going forward especially now as we don’t, you know, welfare does not pay any part of anyone’s mortgage anymore, and we are going to see people who are going to fall into serious mortgage arears and that I do believe, I mean, that is going to cause a major problem for all of us going forward as well. And I suppose the same as Paula to do with food bank, that is what I wanted to ask is actually to do with the Trussell Trust and things like that and their food banks, I mean is there, I think it was Teresa had said about limited resources. I would imagine, I don’t know because I do see it when I am in my own local Tesco’s and stuff like that the boxes aren’t quite as filled as they usually are.
You know if donations and of course there aren’t people standing there in the foyer asking for donations. So, I would imagine that there is slightly less when it comes to that as well. And I know, I think we had to get a new book in my office within the last couple of weeks of referrals for the food bank because we had run out, so yeah, which is amazing. Though and I do know going forward as well we are not going to have this. I mean I know the Minister for Communities and the various things that she did at the very beginning of this pandemic to do with food parcels and various other things, I don’t see how, I don’t know, may well happen again but will not be on the same scale, absolutely won’t be on the same scale. So, and we’ve got fuel poverty on top of that. When we have people, who are in their own homes and children off school being at home your gonna put heating on when you have kids in the house that wouldn’t ordinarily have on. So, there was already major food, sorry fuel poverty in Northern Ireland that is just going to increase.
(Jim McCooe)
Yeah and the dark nights coming in, the winter months you know, gonna add to that. Brenda has re-joined us; Brenda you were just talking about the Trussell Trust do you want to just finish your point there?
(Brenda McMullan)
So, a lot of the local charities that we would support operate food banks, can you hear me ok this time around? Yay, great, brilliant.
So, there is a few issues that they are facing right now and normally when we fund a food bank, we are funding a little bit towards their core support so their food coordinator, their volunteer coordinator. This time round we are funding them for food items and it’s back to what you said Paula, the carts just aren’t filling up and they are running out of food because of the demand. I don’t know if you heard me about the stat, 87% increase in referrals to the Trussell Trust food banks but in Northern Ireland 142%.
Now that, that has been sustained at the 87% stat was sustained at a 61% level increase, so it is not something that is going away soon. The other issue that the food banks are facing is that a lot of their volunteers would be older and perhaps those that are more vulnerable, those who are shieling, so the number of volunteers they have coming forward are decreasing, although they are seeing a small rise in young people which is great to hear.
(Sarah K Murphy)
This is also a mental health crisis as well as a financial crisis. So, just to explain, again from a UK wide basis, we haven’t really seen a huge difference in the clients that have come through to us because we’ve always been helping. People who have got quite severe or mental health problems or who are struggling quite badly with their mental health and generally that pin portrait of those clients are people who are living in poverty so that hasn’t really changed as a result of the pandemic, those people are still living in poverty but perhaps even a little bit worse off in that the issue around fuel again, particularly in Northern Ireland is something that we’re very worried about with it coming into winter.
(Elaine Black)
In terms of politic, prevention is better than cure I’m sure you’ll all agree and in relation to the politic, if the messages are clear then universally most people will be able to cope and with that then you will remove the pressures on the existing resources and from your initial statement about what can you do to influence public policy, the better we manage a simple system for referral access and straight forward messages then the less unnecessary stress we put on people who generally can't cope and are now coping with a very unusual situation.
(Sinead Campbell)
Some of the things that I would say coming from Advice NI, and we would say, is very much in and around affordable childcare. Totally agree with the digital skills, and the accessibility to digital means. That has been, and we have seen that on our own debt service where people cannot access it to the point where our members are setting up what the known term as zoom rooms, for people to actually go in who sit on a computer that is within their advice centre and speak to an advisor who’s sitting in another room. So, this is the thing that people have to do to be able to get them advice. So, when it comes to actually claiming stuff and actually working through processes that are very important to them, it can be an absolute mind field. I would say as well, the benefit system whole heartedly needs to be looked at, waiting 5 weeks for universal credit, that’s just out of date now, it needs to be rectified.
(Jim McCooe)
I’m really grateful to everybody for your contributions, it’s been really passionate. I’m thinking three things as I listen to you, loads in there but I’m thinking, Public awareness campaign around debt advice support, the reaching out, getting to those that are hard to reach I think is key. I think we need to somehow, together, remove the stigma, because I do think that people from all walks of life are not far away from this, and we see that all the time. And I think we need to look at the availability of affordable credit. I think those are the things I’m thinking, I’m really delighted that Paula said there, the anti-poverty strategy is being worked on. So, listen it’s only an hour, we will come back to you with our findings and we will take away your thoughts, and hopefully shape some views that we can take to government going forward.
