Kwasi Kwarteng’s first Mini Budget did nothing to provide hope or relief for the low-income families enduring the worst of the cost-of-living crisis.
We know that many of our clients are desperately struggling to make ends meet. They, and many thousands of other people, need immediate help without which we are likely to see a significant spike in homelessness.
While the Government introduced some support measures, including capping the rise on the cost of fuel, these will only have a limited impact. The bleak reality behind the worsening cost of living crisis is many people are being forced to make tough decisions every day between eating or keeping warm as fuel, energy, food and household bills have risen dramatically.
As prices rise, private landlords are also likely to be forced to raise rents or sell up, also adding to the housing crisis.
Charities and industry professionals including The National Residential Landlords Association (NRLA), have urged the Chancellor to reform the benefits system and reduce landlord taxes to ease the impact of the cost-of-living crisis on both landlords and tenants.
There have also been calls to implement a ban on evictions and increase benefits and local housing allowances to prevent economic crisis developing into a homelessness crisis.
At Caridon Foundation, we are doing all we can to try and support our clients through this very challenging time, and are currently looking to partner with more external services and charities to broaden the support we can offer.