West Lothian households sandbagged by debts

The cost-of-living crisis is hitting West Lothian’s poorest area hard, new figures have shown. 

Long-standing debts in Armadale in Blackridge topped more than £700,000 last year, the council’s Anti-Poverty Service has reported. 

Of the 14,000 customers helped across West Lothian in the last year 1,380, around 10%, came from the Armadale ward. Council data shows that  22% of families with children are living in poverty in the ward.  

Chair of the local area committee, and Armadale native, Independent Councillor Andrew McGuire told the Local Democracy Reporting Service the figures revealed the trend of in-work poverty. 

And the latest figures show the brutal impact of rising costs is being felt across the county. The number of people in work and having to claim Universal Credit across the county has risen by almost 200% since the months before Covid hit. 

Last year APS issued more than 700 vouchers to the families in the Armadale ward in the most dire circumstances – 390 emergency food vouchers and 328 fuel vouchers for households at risk of disconnection.  

West Lothian has 22 data zones in the most deprived in Scotland and a fifth – 20% – of the West Lothian population experience some form of financial hardship.  Some 5% of people in the county are living in extreme poverty. 

The percentage of local children living in poverty is above the national average at 24.6% – but APS staff have stressed that numbers may actually be higher. 

Households in Armadale in Blackridge have faced the cost-of-living crisis with many sandbagged by longstanding debts topping more than £700,000 in the one council ward alone. 

In a report to West Lothian Council’s Armadale and Blackridge Local Area Committee a spokesperson for the APS said the Advice shop staff offered support to deal with £735, 870 of problem household debt in the last year from households in the Armadale and Blackridge ward. 

Advice from staff helped overall in reducing debt repayments of £330,834. 

And across West Lothian the service’s debt advisors have dealt with more than £6m worth of debts in more than 600 cases.  

 More homeowners have been accessing debt support due to high levels of consumer debt.   

The service recently supported a couple who worked full time and are homeowners. 

They had recently come out of a fixed mortgage deal and their mortgage payments had increased by around £200 per month which further impacted on their ability to repay their consumer debts.   

This led to them taking out further credit just to pay their ongoing bills such as food, shopping.  

 A spokesperson for the APS said: “All debt options were discussed and the priority for the couple was to safeguard their home at all costs.   

“One of the options discussed was the Debt Arrangement Scheme which lets you pay off your debts at an affordable rate whilst also providing protection from creditors.  

This scheme is run by a part of the Scottish Government.  

“We helped them to work out an affordable Debt Payment Programme which would likely be accepted by creditors.   

“The Debt Payment Programme was approved meaning that our clients could now afford their new mortgage payments together with an affordable payment towards their creditors by reducing their debt repayments from £2300 per month to £400 per month.”  

APS advisers also helped households in the Armadale ward gain almost  £2m extra in maximising income from social security benefits in the last year, as well as securing energy savings of £70,805 from access to financial support and advice. 

Service staff and now looking at ways of refining the household data they already have to identify pockets of poverty that can be found even in apparently affluent  towns and villages in the county. 

Other county wide statistics offer little reassurance in the current climate. While West Lothian bucks the trend for levels of unemployment in Scotland, 3,325 people in West Lothian are receiving Jobseekers Allowance or Universal Credit and are searching for work. 

The most noticeable worrying trend of recent years – even pre Covid- is the growing number of people who are in work but struggling to live on poor wages – a problem made worse with growing inflation post- pandemic. 

There has been a 171% increase in the number of Universal Credit claimants actually in work since January 2020. That equates to 7,253 people. 

Councillor Andrew McGuire said: “‘Sadly life is becoming harder for many constituents and money is not going as far as it once did.  

“As with other places in Scotland there is an increasing trend towards people who are working and living in poverty. 

“Given this I am very pleased to see the continued support the council’s anti-poverty service has provided to people in Armadale and Blackridge over the last year.  

“I would encourage anyone who is concerned about their income or household bills to make an appointment with the advice shop to see what help and support they can be given “ 

 A spokesperson for the APS said: “The Advice Shop can help with looking at options to maximise income and reduce outgoings/debts.  

 You can contact the Advice Shop on 01506283000 or email [email protected] 

By Stuart Sommerville, Local Democracy Reporter