Need to know basis
🧠 Cost of living toll. People with severe mental health issues are struggling with suicidal thoughts, panic attacks and relapses as a result of the cost of living crisis, devastating new research from Mental Health UK shows. You can find advice on coping here. We’ll be bringing much more support in next week’s newsletter for Mental Health Awareness Week.
Mental Health UK has created a guide for health and social care professionals which explores mental health and money problems and encourages them to ask the people they’re supporting about their financial circumstances. Read Final Demand here.
📉 Energy bills drop. Well, at least they’re going in the right direction. The latest forecasts from Cornwall Insight are out, and energy bills are set to drop to an average of £2,062.91 a year from July. But that’s still double what they were in 2020 and we’ve lost the support of the energy rebate. There’s some helpful advice on Money Saving Expert’s website.
💡 Energy boost. Remember when the country was trialling blackouts? People and businesses were paid to switch off their electricity during peak hours. And it was a great success. They saved enough energy over winter to power 10 million homes.
⚠️ Deadline for pensioner payment. There are just eight days for pensioners on a low income to check if they qualify for pension credit. That’s worth around £3,500 on average and it will mean they also receive a cost of living payment. Find out if you could be eligible.
👑 A grand affair. Councils spent a whopping £3.8million on coronation events, according to this brilliant exclusive from Jenna Corderoy and Adam Bychawski at OpenDemocracy. Bromley Council spent £50,000 on the coronation, having previously vetoed extra funds for food banks. If you scroll to the end, you can find out how much your council spent on the King’s big day.
🛠 100-day plan. Labour's new council leaders have pledged to deliver emergency cost of living plans within 100 days of taking office. The party gained 635 councillors across England in last week’s polls, while the Conservatives lost more than 1,000 seats. But will it deliver? That’s yet to be seen.
📍 Design out of poverty. Katie Schmuecker, the principal policy advisor at the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, writes that we need a strong social safety net with local authorities having a strong part to play. Read about her suggestions for a brighter future here.
📦 Amazon, our saviour. Food banks are taking over the welfare state, writes former PM Gordon Brown in The Observer. People don’t just need food banks any more but “multi-banks”: bedding, furnishings, toiletries, clothes and baby goods all rolled into one.
He supported the launch of a multi-bank in Greater Manchester, which will donate essential goods to more than 50,000 families with the help of Amazon. It can’t be a good sign when you’ve got a hulking company like that stepping in where the government is failing.
📸 Capturing costs. A photo exhibition puts the focus on people needing end-of-life support in Scotland while faced with increasing financial hardship. It’s supported by Marie Curie, which is campaigning for better financial support for the terminally ill and their families.
🚁 Helicopter Rishi. Sunak reportedly used a helicopter for a trip to visit his family in Southampton that would have taken just over an hour by train. Apparently, the taxpayer has picked up the cost. It was all in the interest of time, his official spokesman claimed.
✈️ Holidaying with the parents. Two-fifths of adults are planning holidays with their parents this year because of the cost of living crisis, according to a new study from Starling Bank. At least the bank of mum and dad is coming in handy then.
