Council launches scheme to assist people in crisis

An in-house service is to be provided by Torridge District Council so people can get help face-to-face with their day-to-day bills.

The council will begin a 12-month pilot with a full-time advisor to assist people in crisis.

The advice will be given out at either the council's offices, home visits or at community venues.

The cost of the new service will be £50,000 and money left from a Covid pandemic fund will be used, with the remainder provided from a local rough-sleeper assistance fund.

It is expected to complement financial support for the most vulnerable people, such as that from the Household Support Fund (HSF) and council tax support.

Torridge is due to receive a further round of HSF funding from the government in the spring.

In the last six months, it has handed out £268,000 to residents suffering financial hardship.

In a report to the council's community and resources committee, monitoring officer Staci Dorey said the council had been signposting people to other organisations, but, unfortunately, many had not been able to give advice because they did not have enough capacity.

According to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, people were often offered telephone interviews or online services, which some found very difficult or impossible to access.

"Despite subsidising some of these external organisations, Torridge is not given a priority over referrals and applicants are often placed on long waiting lists, and either receive no support, or the support comes far too late," she said.

Dorey continued: "The demand for debt advice services, particularly in housing and homelessness prevention, has surged, and more people have been left in precarious situations.

"This will be a real opportunity for us to get to, not only our towns, but villages and more rural locations.

"This is something that has been missing recently, with current agencies who just do not have the capacity to deal with face-to-face meetings anywhere, let alone in more rural locations."

Follow BBC Devon on X, Facebook and Instagram. Send your story ideas to [email protected].