Citizens Advice Rutland has conducted a survey amongst the wider population of Rutland to find out more about the impact of the Cost of Living Crisis, which has revealed that many residents have made sacrifices to their lifestyle, health, food consumption and more to combat the crunch.

The survey was distributed across local schools, workplaces, the local authority, social media and at face to face events including local coffee mornings and village roadshows, and received 422 responses.

Results have show that, despite over 40% of responders owning their own homes outright, local households have had to miss out on essentials to make ends meet.

The Cost of Living Crisis has had an ipact across Rutland. Image credit: Nub News.

After a number of years of significant challenge and change, Citizens Advice Rutland continues to be the leading independent generalist advice agency in Rutland.

The service is also focused on providing support to the community and voluntary sector in the county, building connections, capacity and a voice to support community and individual resilience.

Duncan Furey, CEO of Citizens Advice Rutland, said: "As an organisation, we are focused on working to ensure that all Rutland residents have access to the advice and support they require to tackle the problems they face in dealing with existing concerns and increasing uncertainty around the cost of living crisis.

"We will do this by continuing to provide free, independent, confidential and impartial advice and by being adaptable and responsive in how we deliver our services, as well as working to ensure that all are able to access our support, by working in partnership with other local organisations, and by supporting our communities.

"We recognise the challenges that Rutland residents face, particularly in light of its rurality and often presumed affluence, and want to ensure that the voices of all of those who live in the county are heard. We hope that this report will provide an insight as to how those living in Rutland have been affected by the Cost of Living Crisis."

Local homeowers and those living in social housing have reported struggling. Image credit: Nub News.

The Cost of Living crisis can be defined as the fall in 'real' disposable incomes, and this fall has left many people unable to afford their essential outgoings and has resulted in them making difficult decisions on what costs to cut back on.

The Institute for Government states that "it is being caused predominantly by high inflation outstripping wage and benefit increases and has been further exacerbated by recent tax increases."

Since the start of the Cost of Living Crisis, Citizens Advice has played a crucial role in supporting local people throughout the country, helping on average 9,600 people a day across England and Wales.

In the latest Office for National Statistics Opinions and Lifestyle Survey, 35% of respondents reported it was very or somewhat difficult to afford their rent or mortgage with 48% of respondents seeing an increase in their rent or mortgage costs in the last six months. The cost of food and other essential items has also increased dramatically, and 45% of respondents said that they spent more than usual to get what they usually buy; 48% of respondents had had to buy less food and 5% of respondents had run out of food and not been able to afford more.

The Citizens Advice Rutland team explained: "The rurality of Rutland contributes to its problems. With poor transport infrastructure, low social housing availability and lack of local healthcare providers, costs are disproportionately high for those living in the County.

"This is demonstrated in the increased demand for charitable support services locally. In January 2023 alone, the Rutland Foodbank fed approximately 245 local residents, a 99% increase from January 2020. Local charity, Root and Branch Out also set up a Community Fridge to bring low cost and free food to the community. To try to combat residents' spiralling energy bills over the winter months, Rutland County Council introduced 9 'Warm Spaces' across the county."

Locals have also been taking steps themselves to combat the Cost of Living Crisis, including changing to cheaper supermarkets and own-brand foods, reducing meal sizes and, worryingly, going without meals, prescriptions and dental care - an ongoing issue in Rutland with the absence of NHS dental care.

Health care and dental care is being sacrificed by Rutland residents feeling the pinch. Imgae credit: Nub News.

But when will this end?

The Institute for Government suggests that "by 2024, living costs should be increasing by less than household incomes as inflation rates fall. But prices will remain high [...] falling inflation only means prices are rising less quickly, not that they are falling."

The Cost of Living Crisis will therefore be a long term problem for many households across Rutland and it will be necessary to provide both targeted and wider support across the county.

Find out more and read the full survey here.

Alternatively, access help from Citizens Advice Rutland online, where you can find out about assistance applying for benefits, paying your bills, accessing long-term health care support and much more.