A group of Highland housing providers has secured £858,000 to launch a financial and energy advice project set to help over 2,500 Highlanders over the next five years.
The project, Money Matters Highland, aims to help tenants in the social rented sector tackle spiralling fuel costs and make a smooth transition to the Universal Credit benefit system by offering specialist advice.
The project’s partners are Albyn Housing Society, Pentland Housing Association, Lochalsh and Skye Housing Association, Lochaber Housing Association and Cairn Housing Association.
Calum Macaulay, chief executive at Albyn Housing Society, said: “The Highlands and islands have the highest energy costs in the UK and with the additional burden of lower core income levels and higher transport costs, our tenants are facing increasing financial burdens.
“This project will complement existing advice and information services and ensure our tenants across the Highlands, even those in our most remote and rural communities, have access to support. This funding will enable us to deliver this important project for at least five years, allowing us to help as many people as possible.”
Universal Credit went live at Inverness Jobcentre in November 2013, and official Department for Work and Pensions statistics show that 1,060 claims were made in the city between launch and 6 November 2014.
It is now live for single claimants across all Highland Jobcentres.
Jason MacGilp, chief executive at Cairn Housing Association, added: “With Universal Credit set to be rolled out to the whole of the Highlands from this month, it’s very important we have these additional resources in place to provide our tenants with the advice and information they will need to maximise their incomes.
“For some this means rationing daily essentials such as heating and food, things which so many of us take for granted.
“This new funding is greatly welcomed as it will also help us in our efforts to make sure that our tenants enjoy affordable warmth in their homes and help us to continue to fight the scourge of fuel poverty across the Highlands.”