East Sussex County Council is providing information on how to cope with the cost-of-living crisis. The information in this article comes from one of their newsletters. 

The recent costs of living increases have led to tough decisions for many people on how to spend their money, and others need advice and financial support to afford rent, fuel bills and everyday items. To help with these issues, East Sussex County Council are continuing to collate local and national resources. 

• For full information go to www.eastsussex.gov.uk and search Support with cost of living

Benefits Calculators

Free on-line checkers can answer questions about savings, income and outgoings to get benefit advice for you, your family or someone you work with: www.entitledto.co.uk

Government Support 

The government has created a web area for families to find out what support they could be eligible for if in receipt of Universal Credit, Child Benefit, Working Tax Credit or Disability Benefit: helpforhouseholds.campaign.gov.uk

Household Support Extended

In May, the government announced a further extension of the Household Support Fund which will run from October until the end of March 2023. ESCC will be working with schools, further education, and early years providers to issue food vouchers to all families with eligible children/students for the school holidays.

Eligible school pupils should automatically receive HUGGG food vouchers ahead of each holiday. Eligible children with early years providers will also receive vouchers to cover this period. 

• For more information on the HUGGG voucher system and how it works, follow the link

• For any other query contact: freeschoolmeals@eastsussex.gov.uk or sles.projects@eastsussex.gov.uk

Help to Keep Warm 

• For advice on how to keep your house warm, go to warmeastsussex.org.uk and click on DIY hints or www.moneysavingexpert.com and search for Heat the human not the home.

• For help, advice, and financial support: East Sussex Warm Home Check service offers
free advice, along with home energy efficiency visits for eligible households: warmeastsussex.org.uk or
0800 464 7307 or text WARM to 80011.

• Citizens Advice offers energy advice, financial support and fuel vouchers: www.citizensadvice1066.co.uk or 01424 869 352.

Household Support Fund

Families facing hardship can get help with essential household costs. Support is also available via local district and borough councils for emergency help with bills and other items; the local authority will decide eligibility and arrange a payment if the applicant is entitled:
www.hastings.gov.uk search Household Support Fund

Help with Utility Bills

British Gas Energy Trust (not just for British Gas customers): follow link

Southern Water Hardship Fund to provide additional assistance to individuals who are experiencing financial difficulty: follow link

Debt support

Advice on dealing with debt is available from a number of online sources:

• Step Change debt charity: www.stepchange.org 

• Hastings branch of Citizens Advice: www.citizensadvice1066.co.uk

• Government website: www.gov.uk search Options for paying off your debts

• Debt Advice Foundation: call their debt advisers free on 0800 043 40 50

• National Debtline: www.nationaldebtline.org

• East Sussex County Council have a network of community groups, charities and other local organisations that offer a wide range of support. If you have any content either local or national, send it to family.focus@eastsussex.gov.uk

Carillion, the UK’s second largest construction company went into liquidation on 15th January 2018, after running up huge debts of around £1.5bn. There is no doubt more to emerge on this story, as it seems likely the company will have been in trouble for some time prior to its failure. A joint enquiry by MPs to investigate the events leading up to the liquidation has been launched, but that does not help those now suffering bad debts.

The collapse of Carillion has sent shockwaves through the construction industry, as it means that many of its 30,000 private sub-contractors will not be paid for their hard work. This corporate failure has not only affected large companies but also thousands of smaller subcontractors. In many cases, these smaller subcontractors did not even actually work for Carillion themselves. Instead they were engaged by the larger enterprises that worked directly with Carillion, businesses that will now not receive the funds they need to pay those subcontractors. As a result, further business closures down the chain are likely in the near future.

Whatever the nature of your business, there are measures you can put in place to help minimise the risk of business failure should you lose any of your larger customers.

BUSINESS PLAN
A strong business plan is always beneficial in building a successful business. It helps identify which work will be the most profitable, and can be compared to actual results to ensure the business is going as expected. Keeping your business plan updated is always a wise move as part of planning your way forward to protecting your business.

Highlighting the resources that you have available will enable you to determine whether your business works better having many small customers rather than one or two major clients. As a general rule, relying on a smaller client base is more risky. A larger client base means that if one customer cannot pay it should not cause too much damage to your company’s finances.

CASH-FLOW
Even the smallest disruption in cash-flow can halt a business’ plans. Both staff and suppliers will be unhappy if they are not paid on time, possibly leading to the loss of vital talent or materials. In the worst case, the business may not be able to pay its fixed operating costs, which is likely to lead to immediate closure. Engaging debt recovery services to chase customers on your behalf can help improve cash-flow when those managing the business do not have the time to do it themselves.

It is also best not to raise only a single large invoice when a major project is finished. As expenses are likely to be incurred over the course of such a project, this leaves the business having to find funds to cover those costs. Instead you should aim to invoice clients regularly for partial amounts agreed in advance, commonly known as stage payments. Though this will involve additional paperwork, it should also ensure a regular in-flow of cash.

PAYMENT TERMS
Don’t be afraid to discuss payment terms when taking on a new customer. Online credit checks can be taken up to verify whom you are doing business with and whether there are any issues with extending credit to them. You should also consider payment services like direct debits and accepting credit cards. The easier it is for customers to pay you, the more likely it is that you will receive payment promptly.

FUNDING
The construction industry, like many other sectors, can be subject to market forces outside your control. Should you find that your business is having financial difficulties, don’t leave it until it’s too late to contact your bank. They may be able to offer funding options to tide you over.

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