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Autumn Budget: Local People’s Champion urges Government to make key changes to protect the most vulnerable communities in Hull and the East Riding

Alex Day

Citizens Advice highlights unaffordable bills and housing – plus policies that keep children in poverty

A leading local charity is urging the Government to make vital changes in the Autumn Budget that would help prevent hardship and protect the most vulnerable people in communities across Hull and the East Riding of Yorkshire.

The services provided by Citizens Advice Hull & East Riding, the local People’s Champion for more than 86 years, improve financial wellbeing, mental health and housing stability for people across the region. The charity’s unique, real-time data gives a ground-level view of what’s happening in local communities – and these insights are driving three key requests ahead of Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ Budget on November 26th, focusing on:

  • Energy and the cost of essentials – because no one should have to choose between heating and eating
  • Housing – because without a safe and affordable home, everything else becomes harder
  • Children and families – because no child should grow up in poverty simply due to the design of the benefits system.

Citizens Advice Hull & East Riding has provided a Bill Affordability foreword for the national Citizens Advice submission for the Autumn Budget 2025. It highlights how fuel poverty is tightening its grip on Hull and the East Riding, with local data showing that more than half of the charity’s clients who cannot meet their bills are already repaying energy debt, and one in five are repaying water debt.

In addition, households in arrears are twice as likely to face food insecurity and three times as likely to fall behind on rent or council tax. 

Last year alone, the charity’s local advisers supported 1,291 clients with 1,468 damp and mould issues – problems that often begin because people simply cannot afford to heat their homes. The link between cold housing and poor health is undeniable, leading to avoidable illness, distress and higher NHS costs. There has also been an unprecedented demand for emergency energy help: 

  • 1,258 requests for fuel vouchers  
  • Almost half of those clients also needed foodbank referrals 
  • Over a quarter were added to the Priority Services Register due to vulnerability.

One family came to Citizens Advice Hull & East Riding’s Energy Team for support as they were living in a freezing home that they could not afford to heat. Without carpets or furnishings, their home stayed bitterly cold. Despite cutting back to the bare minimum, they relied on food and fuel vouchers to keep their meters running and to feed their families – often without turning the heating on at all. This constant strain took a serious toll on the client’s mental health – they felt stuck in a cycle of hardship they could not escape. 

Families struggling to plug the rent gap

The charity’s advisers regularly support people who are: 

  • Falling into rent arrears 
  • Cutting back on essentials to keep their home 
  • Forced to move away from schools, jobs and support networks 
  • Unable to secure a first tenancy due to unaffordable gaps in rent. 

To tackle this, another key budget request is to uprate the Local Housing Allowance (LHA) so it reflects the 30th percentile of local market rents. Local Housing Allowance is the maximum support people can receive towards private rented housing when they claim Housing Benefit or the housing element of Universal Credit. It’s designed to cover the cost of the bottom 30% of the local rental market – so that people on lower incomes can still find a suitable home in their community. 

However, support has not kept up with rising rents and families are left making impossible choices. Currently the average rent for a two-bedroom property in Hull is £578 a month, increasing to £691 for a three-bedroom. In the East Riding, this averages at £621 for a two-bedroom & £764 for a three-bedroom. In contrast, prior to the COVID pandemic, these rents were between £450-550 depending on the authority and property size. Citizens Advice is seeing:

  • More people facing eviction 
  • Increased use of expensive temporary accommodation 
  • Parents skipping meals for their children can eat 
  • Young people unable to move into independent living.

One client came to Citizens Advice for help applying for a Discretionary Housing Payment because their housing support falls £95 short every month. To keep a roof over their head, they have had to turn to foodbanks. A family living in a three-bedroom home is experiencing exceptional hardship because their support falls £200 short each month. They are desperately trying to find a more affordable property, but nothing suitable is available within their LHA rate - forcing them to use disability benefits to plug the gap. 

Scrap rules keeping children in poverty

Citizens Advice is also calling for the Chancellor to scrap the two-child limit and the benefit cap. Most families with children born during or after April 2017 can only receive Universal Credit support for up to two children, no matter their circumstances. Children do not choose the circumstances they are born into – but the policy means some children are treated as less deserving of support than their siblings.

The benefit cap sets a maximum limit on the total amount of benefits a household can receive, regardless of their rent, family size, or needs. It particularly affects larger families, single parents with young children and households in areas with higher housing costs. The people supported by Citizens Advice every day are living with the consequences:

  • One parent has four children and is subject to both policies. Because of the two-child limit, they receive nothing for their youngest two children – and the benefit cap restricts support even further, pushing the family into deep financial hardship.
  • Another client has three children and is affected by the two-child limit. They are already relying on foodbanks and charity support to feed their children. Receiving the child element for their youngest would lift them out of crisis.
  • A third client has a negative monthly budget and is struggling to pay for energy. Even if the two-child limit were removed, they would still be hit by the benefit cap. Removing both would transform the situation for their family.

To prevent child poverty from worsening, Citizens Advice says that both the two-child limit and the benefit cap must be scrapped together. 

Tracy Wharvell, Chief Executive of Citizens Advice Hull & East Riding, said: “Times are tough and we urge the Government to do the right thing for those in our communities most in need of support. If you’re affected by any of the issues we’ve raised, or you have a problem and you don’t know where to turn, you can turn to us. Call our Advice Line on 0808 278 7981 or see our website at www.hullandeastridingcab.org.uk for more ways to get in touch and more information about our services. We’re here to help.”

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For further information, please contact comms.team@hullandeastridingcab.org.uk.

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