Portsmouth City Council reveals thousands of people are using its cost of living online hub

Thousands of people across the country have been feeling the pinch since last year when prices took a hike and the council decided to do something to help their residents.

They launched the online hub at the start of November 2022, bringing advice together in one place, and adding new information to help with the current crisis. Since then, the average number of people viewing financial support information on its website has almost doubled.

The most popular topic is the city's network of warm spaces, set up to help people hit by energy price rises, and since the launch of the online support hub, the warm spaces section has attracted around 4,300 visits.

Information on food and household essentials, including food banks, attracted around 3,300 visits. The next most popular section was energy and bills, with around 2,200 visits and the hub has been visited more than 14,000 times, by more than 10,600 people.

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Cllr Suzy Horton, deputy leader of Portsmouth City Council, said: ‘These figures show just how many people are in need of advice and support during this crisis. We're glad the hub is proving useful to people and hope it's helping to ease the pressures they're under, by pointing them to where they can get support.

‘We regularly monitor how the hub is being used to make sure we're doing the best job we can.’

The hub is at portsmouth.gov.uk/costofliving residents who aren't online can call the council's cost of living helpline on 023 9284 1047. Or they can use public computers at city libraries.

Cost of living information is also available at Live Well Portsmouth drop-in events. To find an event, residents can go to portsmouth.gov.uk/livewell or call the cost of living helpline.

Portsmouth City Council's cost of living hub is a one-stop source of local advice and support during the cost of living crisis. Go to portsmouth.gov.uk/costofliving Or if you need to talk to someone, call 023 9284 1047 between 9am and 5pm, Monday to Thursday or 9am to 4.30pm Friday.