Advice charity calls on government action after report reveals Scotland’s struggling incomes

The next government should have improving the cost of living at the heart of their agenda, according to a leading Scots charity.

Citizens Advice Scotland (CAS) helped over 272,000 Scots last year, and released over £130million in financial gains for people across the country.

They dealt with almost double the amount of requests for help with Universal Credit in the last year, and now say those struggling should be top priority for the next government.

It comes as figures were released on Tuesday as part of the charity’s annual state of the nation report, Advice in Scotland, which analyses the advice given across their network in the last financial year.

Over 100,000 pieces of advice were issued in relation to debt, with another 40,000 issued related to employment, where pay and entitlements were the top concern.

The network also made over 13,000 referrals to food banks in 2019.

CAS chief executive Derek Mitchell said: “With a footprint in every community in Scotland the Citizens Advice network helped hundreds of thousands of people last year.

“Last year we unlocked financial gains of £131million for people in Scotland – that gives you an idea of the scale of what people are missing out on if they don’t turn to us for advice and support.

“We’re an independent and impartial charity but the data from our state of the nation report makes clear that the next UK government simply must have living standards at the heart of its agenda.

“From issues such as debt and social security to energy we are seeing people struggle with the cost of living.

“Boosting people’s incomes while dealing with rising costs must be a priority for policymakers – particularly with big challenges around cutting emissions in the future.

“People should know that their local CAB is there to help. We’re for everyone and offer free, confidential, impartial advice."

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