The COVID-19 Legacy: Acting Now To Defuse The Debt Time-Bomb

Phone   01453 796050 Email     glos@cleanslateltd.co.uk Drop in  Stroud Library (Growth Hub), Lansdown, Stroud, GL5 1BB Times     Wednesdays 10am - 2pm The effects of Covid 19 have been felt most by low income households: those who are just scraping by, those who are self-employed (especially new businesses), freelance, on zero hours contracts or recently made redundant. Many are suddenly in shock at navigating and living on welfare, while dealing with all the other mental strains of lockdown and caring responsibilities.    An estimated 6 million people in the UK have fallen behind with a bill during lockdown, and 4 million of those have fallen behind with rent, council tax or a telecoms bill. Those with health issues are additionally affected: people in the ‘shielded’ group are 4 times as likely to have fallen behind on a bill compared to those who aren’t at increased risk from the virus and financial problems are also closely linked to the way that people work. 43% of people on zero hours contracts have fallen behind on a bill due to coronavirus compared to 16% of everyone in work The 37% of people who have seen their income fall are nearly 9 times as likely to have fallen behind on a bill compared to those who haven’t (25% v 3%)  (Citizens Advice, June 2020) The government’s three-month eviction embargo, mortgage holidays and the furlough scheme have been essential. But we know this support is time limited. For many, rent, bills and debt payments will simply be deferred, and there will be no protection from debt collection agencies and eviction. For everyone experiencing a drop in income, there will be consequences further down the line, but for those who already have debts, putting everything off for months is the worst strategy.  There is no doubt that there is an unprecedented debt time-bomb waiting to go off post-lockdown.

Early Intervention

Clean Slate believes that we must seek out and engage struggling households as early as possible, to minimise the financial fall-out from Covid 19.  Sometimes identifying small ways to reduce your spend and increase your income, and to know you are not alone, is all it takes to prevent far bigger problems down the line. The time is now for avoiding the crippling cost of increased evictions, debt recovery and the resulting homelessness, mental ill-health and substance misuse. We’re offering ready-funded support, we just need you as a partner.  By referring local residents, tenants or service users, you can help us all to work preventatively.

What We Do

A money health-check for low income households to identify ways to spend less and/or increase their money. It's a kind of triage and where specialist or more involved advice is required - debt, say - we signpost to the agencies already there. If they need coaching towards being ready to take that step, we can help. People who have worked with Clean Slate before have increased their incomes by an average of £594. Clean Slate publishes a claimants’ guide to Universal Credit and we have recently re-designed it for those who are self-employed, on zero hours, freelance and newly redundant. While we have been publishing the guide in hard copy for around five years and usually focuses on our ‘3 Bs’ (banking, budgeting and being online). This ‘Corona-Finance’ edition guides new claimants through navigating benefits, accessing other forms of support and budgeting on a low income. It is only available in digital format. More information here. Our monthly money email service, the Quids In Readers Club, has been dedicated to the concerns local people have in relation to coronavirus and the lockdown. It is part of our Corona-Finance campaign to help people on low incomes to navigate the help on offer. This also includes online FAQs pages, which have a web enquiry link for people to raise their own queries One issue we are particularly keen to address is employment in the current crisis. Some sectors remain open for business and these are traditionally of interest to long-term unemployed people – retail, distribution and agriculture, for example. We are keen to encourage people who need an income boost to consider these opportunities, provided they (and anyone else in their home) are not shielding. For those who have been out of work for a while, establishing a current work history will stand them in good stead for what will probably be a challenging jobs market post-lockdown. While we engage local people, we are keen to partner recruiters and support agencies with opportunities available, so please do forward this email to anyone you think will be interested Please do contact the Clean Slate team, however, for more details, should you require them. You can also find us on Facebook.