CHC joins with JRF and others to push for next UK Government to prioritise hardship
Community Housing Cymru and more than 200 other organisations have joined Joseph Rowntree Foundation in calling on the people most likely to be the next Prime Minister to put tackling hardship at the top of their agenda from day one.
In a letter to Rishi Sunak and Keir Starmer, signatories have called for the two candidates to "to urgently set out a plan to help provide immediate relief to families struggling with hardship".
In addition, to "commit to developing a serious and ambitious strategy to build a future where everyone can afford the essentials, and no one needs a food bank to survive".
The latest research from JRF has found that:
- 7 million low-income households (60%) were forced to go without essentials like food, adequate clothing and basic toiletries in the six months to May 2024.
- 5 million low-income households (42%) took fewer showers or baths due to cost during the cost of living crisis so far.
- 7 in 10 (71%) low-income households in the bottom 20% of incomes were going without essentials in May this year, the same as May last year.
Furthermore, Community Housing Cymru's own research has now found that people on Universal Credit are one of the most likely groups to reach out to their housing association for help in Wales.
In the eight months between July 2023 and March 2024, 2,685 foodbank vouchers to tenants and provided energy advice to 2,045 tenants. Financial support was also provided to more than 7,000 tenants on average, every three months since January 2023.
Additionally, between July 2023 and March 2024, 17 housing associations also helped tenants to maximise their incomes by £17.4m.
