The cost of living crisis April 2022

ended 07. April 2022

The cost of living crisis is taking up a lot of column inches right now, with the price of essentials, from food and fuel to electricity and gas, rising across the board. We want to know how all of this is impacting you and your business or charity — and your mental health. To this end, we'd be grateful if you could complete the quick survey >> here <<. If you'd like to feature in the press release we issue to the media about the survey results, tell us how you're feeling as a business or charity owner at present by responding to this News Alert as normal.

10 responses from the Newspage community

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Diana Perry
CEO at The ED Society
"Those affected by Ectodermal Dysplasia are required to have numerous appointments with specialist medical professionals in various locations across the country, which involves a lot of travel. Travelling needs money and as a result many of the families we work with are going to struggle to continue to get the correct care and support they need. In the summer months, sufferers struggle with overheating and rely heavily on cooling products and equipment such as air conditioning, fans, humidifiers, cooling jackets and more. Such equipment can be expensive to buy and run and are a struggle to afford at the best of times, let alone amid a cost of living and energy crisis. Due to Covid, charity fundraising is already down, and now with the cost of living crisis I think all charities are going to be hit hard by a lack of donations for the foreseeable future. Rising bills are a big concern for everyone in the UK right now, which in turn is causing a reduction in income for small charities like us. We rely heavily on fundraising and donations to enable us to thrive, continue our support services and cover our core costs. As a small non-profit charity, the cost of living crisis we are facing is an extremely worrying time for us all."
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Marie Peacock
Chief Executive Officer at Yorkshire's Brain Tumour Charity
"The past two years have been horrendous, with demand for our support soaring by 225% and income down by 61%. At least as a charity we had glimmers of hope during the pandemic, with a range of emergency Covid-19 funding made available to apply for. Now there is no additional support for us and just when we expected fundraising activities to kick start again the cost of living crisis is having a huge impact, with individuals not able to donate or afford to attend events and those undertaking challenges are fearful of asking family and friends for sponsorship because they know they can't afford it. Our usual amazing fundraisers are kind and generous people, which means many are, understandably, focusing on activities to raise money for Ukraine at this time, which is a double whammy for us. The year ahead for us looks extremely unpredictable now and is causing a lot of concern."
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Kerry Mackay
Owner at ScrubbiesUK
"The driving force and enthusiasm I had when I started my business to pull myself out of poverty is being attacked from all sides. I am freezing cold, alternating between working, homeschooling and warming my hands on my tiny log burner while trying to comprehend another huge hike in postage charges. With my heating off for most of the day, damp is having a party up my walls. The good old days of using a hairdryer are long gone. The recent energy price increases do not represent anything other than greed and a last ditch effort to get every penny out of families who have already cut expenses down to the bone. Where is the incentive to run an SME in this climate?"
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Keith Budden
Managing Director at Ensurety
"The cost of living crisis is here, and here to stay. As if the effect of COVID-19 on the world's economies was not enough, we now have the war in Ukraine to factor in, too. Energy prices are going to continue to rise, commodity prices are going to continue to rise, shipping costs continue to rise, and all the while, wages are increasing too, but nowhere near quickly enough. Welcome to the world of stagflation, which many of us hoped we'd left behind in the 1970s/80s. Stagflation requires Governments to act decisively and sadly at the moment the UK Government is failing to do so. The 5p per litre off fuel got quickly swallowed up, the £200 of our own money being lent to us and then we pay it back over 3 years will soon be shown to be the sleight of hand that it is. Do something drastic Rishi, cut VAT on everything by 5% for 12 months, yes it will cost in the short term but it will boost the economy in the long term. Frankly what you've done so far isn't working, so what have you got to lose? Controversial? Sure, but you were brave over Covid, now be brave over the economy. With Putin across the table, we're playing the biggest game of poker for 83 years - so which is it, stick, twist or bust?"
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Malcolm Baker
Office Manager at Halo Beauty and Holistic Therapy
"We are worried sick at the moment, with the cost of living and fuel prices a particular concern. I have had no choice but to cancel a number of mobile beauty appointments over the past week, purely because no garage within a 35 mile radius has had any diesel. On top of that, we've have a number of salon appointments cancelled because customers either have no fuel to get to them or have put hair, beauty and massage appointments to the back of the queue as their disposable spending power has been obliterated. No income means no heat or food for us. The cost of living crisis is precisely what the often forgotten beauty industry didn't need following Covid. The Government seems obsessed with the hospitality sector, but couldn't give a damn about many other sectors, including health and beauty."
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Lewis Shaw
Founder & Mortgage Expert at Shaw Financial Services
Personally, I'm very concerned not only about the state of our economy but the leadership of our country. The public has lost all faith in the current Government, and the MPs are so out of touch with reality they don't get it. They cannot read the room and seem to have no solid plans or ideas to fix what will be a challenging time for vast swathes of people. We need bold and radical thinking to get a grip on this crisis, and we have the chance to kill two birds with one stone. We could invest in a vast green transition solving both our reliance on fossil fuels and reducing our climate impact while creating jobs and lowering bills. We already know that green energy is the most sustainable and cheapest way of generating energy. The UK has, through various governments, been too happy to rely on free markets and the invisible hand. We need to rally behind our pedigree and once again become the workshop of the world, back our manufacturing, back a new green industrial revolution, not sell off all the state assets as these deleterious Tories have done over the last 40 years, the latest being our national grid.
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Mariona Bolohan
Co-Founder at Lotuly
"Personally, being forced to raise our prices because of the cost increases in all essentials like food, fuel, electricity and gas is no joke. We considered doing this even at the beginning of the pandemic but we wanted to give our loyal customers the chance to recover with us. Now with all the increases going on we have to do it to survive. As suppliers and contractors are putting costs up, we have been forced to do it as well because not only is our profit affected but the whole business. The main issues are mental health and stress due to the toll this takes on our minds, as business owners you want to keep being profitable but you also have to make sure you treat your staff well by keeping them happy and motivated. It's an uncertain time for any business owner but at the same time we need not forget our own mental health in order to be able to keep our business running."
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Dr Marianne Trent
Clinical Psychologist at Good Thinking Psychological Services
"This cost of living crisis is the real deal. I am working to support people's mental health in a situation which feels like there are no silver linings to be found in this cloud of misery. Many of my clients are working full time and have already cut most of the things we regard as modern essentials, things like TV subscriptions. Some are now considering whether they can do without internet and are sitting in cold, dark homes. Despite living with more mindful frugality and cutting back to the bone on expenses, they are still struggling to put food in their cupboards and money on their meters. This is going to have a massive impact on the mental health and wellbeing of people and their families. This lack of control places people and families at risk."
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Lucinda O'Reilly
Director at The International Trade Consultancy
"The economy just doesn't make any sense at the moment. The price of everything is going through the roof and just to rub salt into the wound we've now been hit by the increase in National Insurance. Some areas of the economy are doing well, while others are running on fumes. The whole economy needs rebalancing but I have no idea how to do it and I don't think the Chancellor does either."
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Rob Gill
Managing Director at Altura Mortgage Finance
The pandemic highlighted two features of the UK property market. Firstly, it is extraordinarily resilient, posting double-digit growth during the worst crisis since World War II. Secondly, the 'haves', who were able to work from home, save money and in many cases saw their industries flourish, inevitably ride out such crises much better than the 'have-nots', whose jobs tend to be less suitable for working from home for example. The cost of living crisis seems likely to reflect both of these trends as those with higher incomes cope with higher bills much easier than the less well off, and use their spending power to keep spending on property.