Most people don't have the money to deal with emergencies
Aviva has invested £9m into Citizens Advice and Business Debtline services to aid with crisis support.
The insurer has pledged £7m to Citizens Advice and £2m to the Money Trust’s Business Debtline service over the next two years.
Citizens Advice and the Money Advice Trust, two of the UK’s leading financial support and debt advice charities, have announced that demand for their services has risen sharply as a result of people struggling to cope with increases in the cost of living.
Through Aviva’s support:
50 new Citizens Advice advisers will help support as many as 250,000 additional people through phone lines, webchat and community settings.
Citizens Advice will be able to provide 50% more advice on its website, helping people before they get into an emergency situation.
As an additional team of advisers is brought in, Business Debtline will be able to take an extra 25,000 calls and appointments.
Business Debtline provides free, confidential and independent advice to self-employed people and small business owners in financial difficulty.
The Money Advice Trust’s Business Debtline service is the only free, dedicated debt advice service for people running their own small businesses in the UK. The service has seen a 24 percent increase in calls from people seeking help, giving fresh insight into the challenges faced by self-employed workers due to rising living costs.
“Our organization is experiencing high demand as the cost-of-living crisis puts pressure on families’ finances,” said Clare Moriarty, chief executive officer at Citizens Advice. “In order to meet this challenge, we need more advisers to help people with their problems and provide them with the best online resources regarding bills, benefits and family budgets. We’re glad to partner with Aviva so that we can achieve this goal together.”
“As the cost of living crisis continues to affect small business owners, we’re pleased to partner with Aviva to help this critical part of the UK economy look forward with confidence.” Joanna Elson CBE, CEO, Money Advice Trust, the charity that runs Business Debtline, said.
"More and more people are using our service to help them pay for the basic necessities of life, such as food and clothing. Our service has had to expand to meet the growing demand and support more people who are struggling financially. With our help, they can often get control of their finances, challenge debts and avoid eviction, so they can focus on improving their health and wellbeing." Vivien Smith, an adviser at Bromley Citizens Advice.
