Cost-of-living crisis: need for Citizens Advice soars

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At the recent Abingdon Town Council parish meeting, there was a report by the Abingdon Citizens Advice Bureau. (Here are my notes.)

South and Vale Citizens Advice is a local charity with advice hubs at Abingdon, Didcot, Henley and Thame, and they have to fundraise locally. They received funds from Abingdon Town Council, the two district councils, most other parish councils, and other groups. 123 volunteers help give free impartial advice, and a small staff team support the service.

Demand for advice has soared because of the cost-of-living crisis; the complexity of cases has increased. Some people are overwhelmed by problems. Citizens Advice have about 4000 clients in the Abingdon office, and the biggest demand comes from the Caldecott area. The most frequent issues are: benefits, fuel debt (a new issue and now second most frequent), and council tax arrears. More people need food banks and fuel support.

The data they collect on issues locally help in campaigning nationally. In 2022 Citizens Advice saw more people who couldn’t top up their prepayment meter than in the whole of the last 10 years combined. This helped lead their recent campaign on pre-payment meters.

There was mainly online support during Covid restrictions, but now more support is being given face-to-face.

Some upcoming events

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Nicola tells me there is a piano recital fundraising event at St Michael and All Angels’ Church, Abingdon, on Saturday, 25th March 2023, at 7 pm. Locally brought up professional conductor Guy-Bernard Davis will be at the church to play beautiful music by Beethoven, Brahms and Rachmaninov.

Here is a second reminder of the Abingdon Clubs and Societies Day. This event is usually held every two years, but this will be the first since 2019 (if my memory serves me right). There will be stalls for many of Abingdon’s clubs and societies.

The community board in Abingdon Library has a display for Dear Brutus by the Studio Theatre Club. The play was written by J.M Barrie ten years after he wrote Peter Pan.

Abingdon Artists’ Spring Exhibition

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The Abingdon Artists’ Spring Exhibition is at St Helen’s Church from Monday, 13th to Saturday, 18th March 2023 (10 am – 4:30 pm).

There are over 100 original works of art by over 40 members of Abingdon Artists, most of which are for sale. There are also cards and many unframed works available for purchase. There is a raffle to win a painting of Abingdon Bridge.

This evening there was an Artists’ Evening for members and spouses/friends.

Entry is free, and all are welcome.

From ‘No Mow May’ to ‘Let It Bee’

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The  Vale of White Horse district council (VWHDC) has a new biodiversity project called Let It Bee , which reduces mowing of some council sites to allow more wildflowers and help bees and other insects. This follows on from the No Mow May trial last year.

Councillor Sally Povolotsky, VWHDC Cabinet Member for Climate Emergency and Environment, said: “When lawns and other grassy areas are kept short through very regular mowing, wild plants don’t get the chance to grow, flower and seed and thrive. In addition to increasing insect life to the area, the Let It Bee project should make the plants and the soil better able to withstand periods of extreme weather, as we had last summer.”

This will involve six VWHDC sites in Abingdon:

Abbey Meadow
Fitzharris Estate
Oxford Road
Rye Farm
Tilsley Park
White Horse Leisure Centre