Cost of Living Crisis: Impact on Hertfordshire Residents
Background
The Cost of Living Crisis has been in the headlines for several months. However, the headlines only provide a glimpse of the human struggles behind them and the terrible impact this crisis is having on people's lives.
We looked to fill this gap, uncovering the lived experience of Hertfordshire residents, and have shone a light on how local people were being impacted - not just financially, but physically and mentally as well.
What we did
In partnership with Hertfordshire County Council, we ran an online survey to understand how the rising cost of living was affecting Hertfordshire residents. We also explored the impact on people's physical health, mental health and access to healthcare services - given the limited intelligence available on this locally.
In total we heard from 7,043 Hertfordshire residents.
What we found
Local people shared in-depth details about the extent to which they were struggling and the drastic changes they have had to make to try and cope with the rising cost of living.
- 93% have been impacted by rising costs. 69% have been affected a little, but they're managing, while 24% have been affected a lot and they're struggling.
- 4 in 10 have just enough, or not enough money for basic necessities.
- 8 in 10 have used less heating or made other choices to reduce their energy bills.
- 6 in 10 have reduced the amount of food they eat and/or bought cheaper types of food.
- 45% said their access to healthcare has been affected by rising costs. Many have not visited the dentist or opticians, could not travel to medical appointments, purchase prescriptions or medication,or buy mobility aids and equipment to help with their health.
- 3 in 10 said their physical health has been affected by rising costs.
- 5 in 10 said their mental health has been affected by rising costs.
- Only 12% have accessed support for their physical and/or mental health in the last 12 months.
- Awareness of local provisions and support was relatively good, however the actual use of these services was low.
Crucially, we found that some groups have been disproportionately impacted by the rising cost of living - including single parents, carers, people under the age of 54, people from a Black or Asian ethnic background, disabled people and those with a long-term condition. Read more about our findings in relation to these demographics here.
Responses and Actions
The rising cost of living is still resulting in significant and ongoing challenges. There are no simple solutions to this crisis and getting people the support they need will require long and short-term actions.
Since December 2022, we have provided local public services with fortnightly data and findings, showing the impact of the crisis on residents. Our findings were used to help inform local providers about where support services were most needed and which groups were missing out.
Hertfordshire County Council, Public Health, District and Borough Councils, the NHS and the Voluntary, Faith, Community and Social Enterprise (VCFSE) sector have all listened to, used and acted on our findings - to identify key trends, gaps in service provision and to develop new services and schemes to help Hertfordshire residents.
Cost of Living will continue to be at the centre of our inequalities agenda and we will be monitoring what the Council, the NHS and other local organisations are doing to ensure action is taken to address the concerns people have shared with us.
