Parents in St Ann's say they won't let their children go cold this winter despite worrying about high energy costs as temperatures plummet. Weather warnings for ice have been put in place by the Met Office for many parts of the UK over the next few days, whilst the forecaster predicts that the temperature in Nottingham will reach as low as -2°C over the weekend.
Temperatures have dropped so low that the Government has begun issuing £25 cold weather payments for eligible households in many parts of the country. Energy bills have been rising along with other household costs for much of the year, with factors including Russia's invasion of Ukraine and soaring inflation among the factors putting pressure on families.
St Ann's is one of Nottingham's most economically deprived areas and as the cold weather now begins to sharpen, people living there say that they are being forced to turn on the heating. Benjamin Malyi, 46, said: "We're trying to get by day-to-day. I have my wife at home and two children aged 8 and 10, so you can't let them be cold.
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"They come home from school and at the moment they are keeping their jumpers and jackets on while they eat their dinner, and then they have a hot shower to warm up. It is getting very cold now and so we have to put the heating on.
"We're on a pay as you go meter and I put £15 on it recently, but it lasted about three and a half days. I work as a delivery driver and my wife is a nurse, but things are very expensive and a lot of the shops around here are very expensive as well. "
Another St Ann's resident feeling the pinch is Ahmed Kouba, 46, who is a member of security staff at the town's branch of Heron Foods. He said: "I see customers coming into the shop all day talking about how expensive everything is getting and how they are struggling to heat their homes.
"We are in December now and so it's obviously really cold and people have got no choice but to heat their homes. I put £30 on our meter this week and it lasted for three days, because we have children aged 7 and 2 and you have got to keep them warm."
One 43-year-old St Ann's mum, who has four children at home, says that she is having to make several cutbacks to cope. She said: "It's my daughter's 16th birthday tomorrow and that's obviously a big birthday, but I haven't spent as much as I usually would on it because I just can't afford to.
"I'm just worried that what I've been able to do won't be enough. I'm even telling the kids to be ready for if we do eventually end up with blackouts because I think that might happen at some point.
"I'm telling them to put extra layers on as well because it's so expensive to heat the house up. At Christmas me and a friend are halving Christmas dinner, so I'll get half of the stuff and she'll get the other and that way it's going to be cheaper for us both."
One of the services helping people in the area through the winter is the St Ann's Advice Centre, which has been running for over 20 years. It provides services including debt advice and people can also use the café there which offers affordable meals.
Among those using the café was Helena Crossley, 66, who said: "I'm not going cold for anybody and if I need the heating on I will be putting it on. The money is just taken out of my bank and I haven't had any complaints yet about there not being enough in it, so I'm just going to carry on as I am.
"At this café you can get your breakfast for £3 and your dinner for £3. I don't always have both, I usually just come for the breakfast and then I'll have a sandwich at dinner, but the prices here mean that I don't have to make the choice between heating and eating."
Another user of the café was Doreen Waller, 74, who said: "I am struggling at the moment and if it wasn't for these bits of money that we're getting from the Government then I definitely wouldn't be able to manage, but I don't even know if that will be enough. When you go into the supermarkets, everything keeps going up by 50p or £1 and I just don't know how the hell people are supposed to afford it."
The Government has introduced a series of payment schemes which certain groups will be eligible for. The Energy Bills Support Scheme applies to all British households and sees £400 being taken off energy bills, with the non-repayable discount being applied in six instalments between October and March.
Households on means-tested benefits have received a cost of living payment of £650, paid in two instalments, whilst people on disability benefits received an extra one-off payment of £150 in September. Pensioners can also get between £100 and £300 to help pay heating bills during the winter months, as well as a one-off pensioner cost of living payment of £300 this winter.
Nottingham City Council, together with the local NHS, is also running the Ask Lion website, which has information and advice on everything from household budgeting to finding places like community supermarkets and food banks that offer cheap food. Councillor Adele Williams, the deputy leader of the council and its portfolio holder for finance, said: "No one should have to make the choice between eating and heating.
"No parent should have to watch their children miss meals because their cupboard is bare, no worker should have to put in 50 to 60 hour weeks, working multiple jobs, just to scrape by. But sadly, with rocketing inflation, energy bills and other pressures, that is the stark choice many face this winter.
"We know that many Nottingham households were already struggling and that the cost of living crisis is going to hit them hard. With our campaign, we want to make sure that people are aware that they are not alone, help is at hand."
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