Cost of living impact in East Riding
The number of East Riding households short of cash has risen by 83 in a month as the council’s leader outlined efforts to tackle the cost of living crisis.
East Riding Council leader Cllr Jonathan Owen told the authority’s full meeting 939 local households were short of cash by April, with 9,848 in relative poverty.
The leader of the Conservative-run council said its revenue and benefits officers were trying to get support to the most vulnerable including with financial advice and aid.
Councillors heard the amount of households in relative poverty rose by 14 per cent from March to April.
It comes as Office for National Statistics (ONS) figures showed inflation reached 9.1 per cent by the end of May.
The amount of those in food poverty rose to 1,412, up 21 per cent during the same period while struggling to pay for fuel rose from around 10,000 to 12,077.
Councillors also heard the number of households in council tax arrears had risen by 627 from March to April, with those in rent arrears to the authority falling slightly.
Cllr Owen said 107,000 East Riding households, 73.4 per cent of the 127,000 eligible, had been paid the £150 energy rebate since its April roll out.
The leader added the council had been allocated around £2m to help the hardest hit local households and the authority’s staff was in the process of contacting them.
Cllr Owen said “I want to assure the council that we’re treating this crisis with the upmost priority and we will be considering how we can best utilise forthcoming government support in the most cost effective manner.