“We stood up during the blitz when elderly people were being bombed outside their homes in Bristol. Our mantra then was to keep them warm, feed them and keep them alive – and we haven’t really had to worry about that in the decades since,’ says the chief executive at the charity’s headquarters in the city. “Now we’re in a situation where we have to make sure people are kept warm and we have to make sure people are fed.” Last week Goldsworthy was forced to sign a new £7.7m energy contract because prices were rising by £100,000 a day. From October it will pay more than five times what it used to pay for gas and electricity, which was around £1.5m a year. “We are in an absolutely impossible situation. I’ve had one of the worst weeks ever and I’ve been through Covid so I know what hard times are like,’ she says, shaking her head gently. “They’re abandoning us again.” Oona Goldsworthy of Brunelcare in Bristol. “I had one of the worst weeks ever,” she says. “They’re abandoning us again.” Photo: Gem Hicks Photography Goldsworthy is concerned about the impact this huge financial burden will have on shelter residents. Staff are desperate to cut energy use by 20% and ensure residents claim their full entitlement, but dread winter. “We plan for an emergency,” he says. “Brunelcare alone does not have the means to help everyone overcome this cost of living crisis.” Service charges paid by sheltered housing residents are likely to more than quadruple. “There is currently no protection for some of the poorest and most vulnerable people in this country because they do not buy their own gas and electricity. They have been forgotten,” says Goldsworthy. “We are really worried about how they will cope this winter – many could be forced to choose between heating and food. It’s horrible.” The government energy price cap and £400 bill discount only apply to domestic customers who buy their own electricity and gas. They do not help people living in sheltered housing or nursing homes, where the energy to heat and power their homes is bought on the wholesale market from a charity or private provider. The vast majority of Brunelcare residents are on low incomes, with 70% entitled to benefits including Universal Credit and Pension Credit. However, these benefits do not cover the increased energy costs Lack of government assistance could have serious consequences. “Like many other charities, we can’t just absorb these kinds of price increases,” says Goldsworthy. “We will have to make cuts and impose our fees [for sheltered housing] to cover this. Unless the government steps in, it will jeopardize our ability to continue to support our residents in the way we always have.” Tom Wall
The museum bosses
Diana Leitch, chair of the trustees of the Catalyst Science Discovery Center and Museum in Widnes, Cheshire, said the museum was stunned when its gas bill for the year rose by 460%. He said the museum would be forced to consider the cuts but would try to avoid reducing hours. The museum’s annual gas bill to the end of September 2022 was £9,700, but on 5 August it was declared £48,582 for a renewed annual contract from 1 October. Leitch said: “We were so amazed by it that we started looking around to see if we could come up with something better. We found that other suppliers were doing what is called closing their books and not bidding. In the meantime, the cost of renewing our contract had risen to £54,362.” This meant the cost of renewing the annual gas contract had risen by almost £580 a day. The museum enlisted the help of a broker to find a new contract and signed a new contract on Thursday for £44,000. Leitch said: “You can see the enormity of what’s going on. And it happens everywhere. We don’t want to diminish what we provide. “Widnes is a deprived area and there are three food banks within half a mile of where we are. These are the people who decide whether they eat or are hot. People will come to museums to warm up.” Lee Juby, chief executive of the museum, said: “Energy bills are a big part of our costs, but we have enough reserves to overcome that. “There will undoubtedly be some organizations that will not survive.” Jon Ungoed-Thomas and Rebecca Brahde
The principle
Instead of recovering from a “hellsome few years” running 18 schools during a pandemic, Dan Morrow, chief executive of Dartmoor Multi Academy Trust, spent his holiday last week writing different versions of budget cuts, including job losses , to present them to his board of directors. Dan Morrow, Chief Executive of Dartmoor Multi Academy Trust. “I can’t sleep,” he said. I am trying to find a solution. I’m afraid there isn’t.’ Photo: Dartmoor Multi Academy Trust! “I can’t sleep,” he said. “I’m trying to find a solution that can work. It’s not just elusive, I’m afraid it doesn’t exist.’ At the end of last term Morrow knew things were bad. He had to come up with a staggering £800,000 to cover rising energy bills. It had canceled job adverts to recruit key support staff in areas such as attendance and family connection, as well as teaching assistants. Then it got worse. The trust had budgeted what was proposed for teachers’ pay, but at the start of the holidays the government announced a 5% pay rise, which was followed by a separate rise for local council support staff, with no extra cash to pay them . This meant I would come up with an extra £900,000. Morrow is clear that he “absolutely supports” these wage increases. “They are actually wage cuts in real terms, as they are significantly lower than inflation. But they are significantly over funding,” he said. His budget plans include layoffs, he said, “but that will be our absolute last option.” However, it will have to freeze all hiring, which equates to a 5% staff cut, or 45 jobs. It also seeks, regrettably, a cut in uniform and food subsidies for struggling families, school trips, sporting events and new books. It is feared that the poorest children, many of whom are already significantly behind due to Covid, will be hardest hit. “They are labeled disadvantaged but underserved by a system that seems to want to keep them in their ‘place,’” he said. “It means that the idea that education is part of the leveling agenda is not just awful, it’s patently untrue.” Anna Fazakerley
