Our new Good Practice Snapshot – Cost of Living: Supporting Older People is now available for erosh members to access in the Member Hub.
The Cost of Living is defined as the amount of money that people need to pay for food, clothing and somewhere to live (Oxford Dictionary, 2023).
Cost of Living in the UK increased sharply during 2021 and 2022 because of high inflation which, in October 2022, reached 11.1%, the highest it had been in over 40 years (House of Commons Library, 2023).
The rate and impact of this increase led commenters to call it a crisis because high inflation affects the affordability of goods and services for all consumers.
Although inflation decreased to 6.3% in September 2023, the impact of the past few years will be felt by older people for years to come. Older people are more likely to be impacted by the cost of living crisis. Older people are often on a fixed income i.e. pensions that do not rise with inflation and spend more on home energy bills than other households (Age UK, 2023).
With winter approaching the impact is even greater. The percentage of older people benefiting from pension credit has also fallen preventing them from accessing additional support such as council tax reduction, cold weather payments and help with glasses and dental treatment (Independent Age, 2023).
This Good Practice Snapshot provides a practical appraisal of the cost of living and energy crisis, its impact on older people and how housing providers can provide support.
Erosh members can download the Good Practice Snapshot from the Member Hub on the erosh website. You need to login to access your member resources. Your login is your email address, but if you have any problems logging in or accessing this Snapshot, please contact Rena on info@erosh.co.uk.
If you’re not an erosh member and you’re interested in accessing the Snapshot, please get in touch with Rena on info@erosh.co.uk.
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