Support through the Credit Crunch
Below is a comprehensive list of support available to
individuals and businesses during the economic downturn.
Support for individuals
Housing Advice &
Benefits
Information on a variety of issues relating to
housing from advice to affordable housing, homelessness and
managing rent payments can be found here.
Information on Council Tax and Housing Benefits including
details on who can claim and how to claim can be found here.
As fuel and energy prices go up and incomes come down
(relatively, or due to redundancy / reduction in hours), families
and particularly vulnerable people such as the elderly and disabled
can end up spending more than 10% of their income to heat, light
and cook in their home - defined as being in
fuel
poverty. Check what help you can get to ensure you can
have affordable warmth. See also the Council's
Energy saving advice page.
National Debtline is a national telephone helpline for people
with debt problems in England, Wales and
Scotland. The service is free, confidential and
independent.
At National Debtline they are committed to answering your
call and then discussing your debt problems with you and the
options available to you. The specialist advice is given over
the telephone is backed up with written self-help materials which
can be sent out to you for free. If your circumstances meet certain
criteria, they can, if you are interested, assist in setting
up a Debt Management Plan for you, for free.
For advice on a range of issues such as housing, social
security benefits, employment, debt, family and personal issues
contact Richmondshire Citizens Advice Bureau, 23 Newbiggin,
Richmond, North Yorkshire DL10 4DX or telephone 01748 823978
For information on employment opportunties within the Local
Authorities, career advice and information on Job Centre
Plus. To contact Richmond Job Centre Plus ring
01748 542204 or visit Victoria Road, Richmond, North
Yorkshire, DL10 4AS
As bills go up this adds to the squeeze on home incomes.
Get some advice on no- and low-cost ways to save energy on heating
and lighting your home so you can buck the trend in increasing
energy bills. Loft and cavity wall insulation is currently
available for free to most residents, but even if you have to pay,
it should save you what it cost within a year or two in cheaper
energy bills! See also the Council's own
Energy saving advice page.
In conjunction with the above website, this not-for-profit
company fully owned by all the North Yorkshire District Councils
operates the North Yorkshire energy advice centre. It
gives locally tailored advice on home energy efficiency
measures such as insulation, renewable energy technology, local
installers and grants or discounts available. Call their
advice line on 01904 554406 (you can also leave a
message out of office hours for someone to call you back).
Support for Businesses
Business Tax &
Benefits
For information on small business rate relief and the rate
deferral scheme.
Business
Support
Business Link provide a range of practical advice for new and
growing businesses including useful factsheets on managing your
finances to marketing and local events for 1:1 business advice.
Business Debt
Advice
Business link provide a range of advice on debt recovery,
insolvency, late payments and improving cash flow.
Redundancy
Information
Yorkshire Forward offer advice on redundancy from pre and post
redundancy support to information on training development and job
matching. Also they offer contact details of other support agencies
e.g Berr, Acas, Business Debtline.
Business Efficiency Advice
As bills and resource costs go up, making sure you're not
wasting money on them unnecessarily can be critical. Get
free consultancy and advice on how to save your business money on
energy, waste, water and other resources which contribute to your
overhead costs on the Greener
Business pages.
Energy (& Fuel) Saving Advice
The North Yorkshire Green Business Club (set up as the
Business Environmental Forum in 1997) is run by the Yorkshire Energy
Partnership to help businesses with environmental
information and independent advice. They offer training, help to
calculate your business's carbon footprint and can develop an
environmental strategy for your business. YEP can also give
presentations to your staff on energy saving behaviour and smarter
(fuel efficient) driving.
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