£2.3 million announced for advice services for Londoners facing cost-of-living crisis

Sadiq Khan, Mayor of London, has announced an investment of £2.3m for advice services to help Londoners cope with the cost-of-living crisis. The funding is part of £5m provided this year to help Londoners access welfare advice.

He has also launched a partnership with London Citizens Advice and London Legal Support Trust (LLST) to reach more Londoners who are finding it difficult to access help and support.

The funding is to help the organisations increase the capacity of their work, and enable 35,000 more Londoners to get support. The funding will also enable 4,500 people working in grassroots organisations to access advice training to support their communities.

With the funding, London Citizens Advice can increase its number of advisers and provide further support and LLST will be able to increase capacity across its network of Centres of Excellence by recruiting and training more specialist advisers in areas of high demand.

The announcement comes as new research from You Gov shows that the number of London residents struggling with the cost of living is continuing to rise. 30 per cent are "just about managing" and "17 percent" are "financially struggling".

Earlier this year, the Cost of Living hub was launched in London to help residents access information and advice such as how to claim benefits that they are entitled to, help dealing with debt, financial management and mental health support.

Other cost of living funding in London is being spent on tackling fuel poverty, improving security for private renters, housing rough sleepers and tackling food insecurity.

The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, said: “I’m hugely concerned about the impact of the spiralling cost of living on Londoners, with increasing numbers struggling to get by each month. I’m determined to do all I can to support Londoners which is why I am providing this funding to boost the vital work of London Citizens Advice and the London Legal Support Trust. By helping Londoners to access help and support they are entitled to, we can prevent more people falling into poverty and instead build a more prosperous city for all Londoners.”

Chair of the London Citizens Advice Steering Group (and CEO of Merton and Lambeth Citizens Advice) Suzanne Hudson said: “At a time when demand in London Citizens Advice charities is soaring, we are delighted that the Mayor of London is supporting this important partnership to help Londoners cope with the cost-of-living crisis. In difficult times, accessing information and advice can prevent problems from becoming crises. Our services are here to provide support for people when they need it and this funding will enable us to help more Londoners. "

CEO of London Legal Support Trust, Nezahat Cihan, said: “Specialist advice is vitally important in helping empower people to tackle issues including debt, rent arrears, housing problems, Universal Credit errors, and more. Our Centres of Excellence will be able to increase their specialist advisor capacity to support more vulnerable Londoners so they don’t have to face these issues alone, and risk them spiralling.”
Notes to editors