Monday, December 06, 2021

Christmas isn't a wonderful time for everyone: "More than one in three people in Scotland find energy bills unaffordable"

Recently we published comment from local MSPs on the potential of the Scottish Child Payment to help tackle poverty and we know that the 23% of children live in poverty in the Highlands. The recent research by Citizens Advice Scotland shows just how much deeper money troubles go for many people however and Nairn will be no different from anywhere else - people in our community are struggling and inability to pay bills is no fun at any time of the year but even worse as we head into the pressurised festival of spending that is Christmas these days:

"More than one in three people in Scotland find energy bills unaffordable, according to new polling for Citizens Advice Scotland (CAS) by YouGov.

The research found 36 per cent of people couldn’t afford their fuel bills. Of these, 80 per cent cited rising energy costs as a reason, with 65 per cent saying the rising cost of living was a problem. Meanwhile, 40 per cent said low incomes was an underlying problem, with 24 per cent stating their home being hard to heat was a factor."

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