Awful April

We are worried that with bills like council tax and water rising from April, an increased number of people will struggle to make ends meet or fall into debt. 

Across Leicester and Leicestershire, we are seeing significant growth in demand across all of our services with notable increases in requests for housing, energy and debt advice. 

In the first working week of January 2026, we saw the highest ever demand for debt support. In our Money Advice service, which specifically supports people with complex debt, we are seeing both a higher number of people requesting advice and higher amounts of arrears. Around 1/3 of debt owing is for essentials, like rent, council tax or energy.

The Citizens Advice network across the country reports supporting one household in crisis once every 30 seconds – individuals and families in Leicester and LeicesterShire are no exception. 

Over the last few years, the number of issues and problems that people are coming to Citizens Advice LeicesterShire with have increased – this speaks to how complicated and complex the needs of households across Leicester and Leicestershire have become, and highlights why the need for confidential, impartial and independent advice is also growing. 

Significant steps have already been taken that will come into effect next month, particularly scrapping the two child benefit cap, as well as increases in benefits and action on energy bills. However, more help is needed to prevent those people on the edge of crisis from reaching a tipping point in April with increases in bills. 

Vicky Gutteridge, CEO of Citizens Advice LeicesterShire, says: “we would encourage people to come to us earlier if they are falling behind on their bills or struggling to make ends meet – there is more support and there are more options if you don’t let problems go unaddressed.”