Shocking cost of living impact on children in towns
MORE and more children in Nuneaton and Bedworth will need free school meals as the cost of living is set to hit the borough hard.
In fact, the numbers needing free school meals across the borough are set to reach a Warwickshire-wide high.
Warwickshire County County data from 2022 indicates that 18.57 per cent (16,218) of school aged children are claiming a free school meal; for Nuneaton and Bedworth Borough this increases to 25.3 per cent (4,857). This figure is set to rise further according to a Shire Hall report, which states:
“We expect to see an increase in demand in coming months.”
It is has long been known that the borough has some of the most deprived wards in the whole country, not just Warwickshire. The impact of the cost of living crisis, including rising energy bills is set to hit the borough especially hard.
The county council is bracing itself for a rise in demand not just from those in the two towns, but countywide.
It has revealed that between April and June this year, its Local Welfare Scheme, which gives out the Household Support Fund for things such a food, water and electric bills, saw a 35 per cent increase in enquiries compared to the same period in 2021 and pleas for help are only set to rise further. It is not just household’s finances that are set to feel the strain, the cost of living impact is also set to set to hit people’s wellbeing.
“We are already seeing increases in domestic abuse cases, mental health issues, children in need and neglect concerns,” a report revealed.
“Anticipated further increases in demand, as a result of cost-of-living pressures, in a number of service areas including Children and Families, Adult Social Care, the Local Welfare Scheme and the Family Information Service.
“Resourcing of these services will be kept under review on an ongoing basis. Increasing interest rates are likely to increase pressure on households with high levels of debt, and higher mortgage rates are likely to depress the housing market.
“This could potentially improve housing affordability but leaves others facing difficulty affording a mortgage or finding themselves with negative equity.”
To help all struggling households, the council is preparing a package aimed at alleviating the cost-of-living pressures in Warwickshire which includes £3.47m Household Support Grant (HSG) for use between October 2022 and March 2023 as well as £1m, funded from the Revenue Investment Fund, on a range of support initiatives to alleviate the cost-of-living pressures for Warwickshire.