The poorest people in Exeter are being charged council tax, they are being charged around £15 to £20 a month. This is causing real hardship for lots of people who were already struggling. Foodbanks have been busier than ever 3000 people have used the foodbank this year compared to 1500 last year; the new charges came this year so these figures are probably not a coincidence.
To many this feels like Unemployed e yet another attack on the poor, the poor are real people who struggle and occasionally go hungry. £71 50 a week is very little to live on, it’s enough to barely scrape by on. Food is getting more expensive, even rice has gone up by 81% many people are going without fruit and vegetables and buying tinned food, this is a terrible time to be making people poorer. £4.00 or 5 a week sounds like very little but when your on the value breadline it could be the difference between eating and starving.
The council did have a conscience about these new changes, they asked the unemployed to give their opinion and fill out questionnaires. This was a pointless exorcise as the charges happened anyway, a little therapy before taking food out of peoples mouths.
This is so sad. The unseen poverty of families. The forgotten ones.
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