East Kilbride Citizens’ Advice Bureau (CAB) is facing increasing demand from those drowning in debt – as their current case load comes to over £6 million.
Of that £6.4m total, £4.3m of that came about as new cases starting in the last financial year.
The startling figure stems from delays to those looking for work claiming Universal Credit, but also those in low-paid work struggling to make ends meet.
Worryingly, Michelle Campbell, manager of the town’s CAB, is continuing to refer increasing numbers of residents to food banks.
This comes as latest figures for the three months leading to March show that the unemployment rate in the UK fell to its lowest since 1974 – sitting at 3.8 per cent.
In Scotland it sits at 3.2 per cent – a fall of 7000 from the previous quarter to 89,000.
However, in the East Kilbride, Strathaven and Lesmahagow constituency the claimant count of those looking for work as of February rose by five per cent year on year to 1674.
In the 18-24 age group there was a slight year-on-year increase of two per cent to 326.
Over a five-year period, however, there was a dramatic drop in the 18-24 age group, with the claimant count dropping by nearly half at 46 per cent, while all claimants fell by 38 per cent.
But East Kilbride CAB told the East Kilbride News benefit cases make up more than a third of their workload.
Manager Michelle, pictured above, said: “The bureau, along with our national network, are now being funded to provide a face to face and telephone/webchat support service for Universal Credit (UC) – from the initial claim until first full payment.
“Benefits as a whole have increased over the last five years from 20 per cent to 34 per cent.
“UC is currently 14 per cent of the overall benefit issues we deal with and this figure has been increasing monthly.
“The problems with the delays in UC remain.
“While people can choose to ask for an advance payment of benefit once their claim has been accepted, which in the short term assists the clients, in the long term this results in the clients having to live on less money as the advance payment is taken off monthly for up to a year.
"People then find themselves struggling to cope with the reduction to their benefit, who in turn have to seek debt advice.”
She went on to explain that debt advice makes up 39 per cent of their workload, which equates to 82 new debt cases being started in the last financial year totalling just under £4.3 million.
The total number of active debt cases the bureau is carrying currently sits at 224.
Ms Campbell added: “The bureau deals with a number of working people who are on low incomes and struggle to feed themselves once they have met all of their financial commitments.
“The bureau still makes lots of referrals to the food banks in the town and, to date, we haven’t noticed any marked improvement.”
