Leader's statement - cost of living crisis
Cllr Peray Ahmet, Leader of Haringey Council, has issued a statement over the cost of living crisis and outlines the help and support that will be provided to vulnerable residents in the borough over the coming weeks and months.
We are heading into a difficult Autumn.
Residents, and businesses in Haringey are already experiencing rising food, rent, transport and heating prices and those increases are likely to go on into the winter.
We are worried about a third of our residents who live in the private rented sector and increasing arrears and evictions.
Other trends include a rise in illegal money lending and demand for credit from low-income households, a sharp increase in the need for food banks and challenges with debt.
We have some of the highest rates of unemployment in London – particularly youth unemployment.
Nationally, inflation has reached 10 per cent already and under the energy price guarantee, which limits the unit price paid for electricity and gas, the annual bill for a typical household in England, Scotland and Wales will be held to around £2,500 for the next two years, but that could rise even more, depending on the usage.
It is likely that increasing numbers of people in Haringey will, over the course of the next year, seek extra financial support or other help from the council.
I am determined that we will not be broken by this crisis and that we work together as a community to protect the most vulnerable even as the council faces steep rising costs. We already have some measures in place.
We have regular meetings with our voluntary sector partners like the Citizen’s Advice Bureau, the Law Centre and the Bridge Renewal Trust to make sure that we are targeting government emergency funding to the right households.
We have a financial support helpline, debt support and grants to help with food, heating and family costs including grants for school uniforms.
All the information is on our Here to Help webpage
But we know this is not going to be enough and the council cannot act alone. We are all going to have to work together in this crisis, like we did during the pandemic.
That means harnessing all the good will and innovative solutions that you as residents can come up with.
We need to ensure the council is making it easier for our community and that we do things with you rather than to you.
I will spend the Autumn talking to residents, visiting voluntary sector projects, schools and local businesses with my Cabinet so that we understand the support needed.
But we will also need to work together to campaign to make sure the government provides us with the resources we need to continue to help our residents and borough thrive.
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