A CHARITY has seen demand for financial and legal advice rocket by more than 40 per cent in the last year in Scotland as the country sees increasing poverty levels.

Citizens’ Advice Scotland (CAS), which provides support and advice to people on a range of matters, has seen a jump in need for their services as the cost-of-living crisis bites, fuelled by energy prices hikes.

The charity provided 118,384 instances of crisis support or advice in the last year, compared to 84,384 in 2021/22, an increase of almost 41 per cent.

Need for energy crisis advice grew by a staggering 56 per cent over the same period, with almost 100,000 requiring assistance in dealing with prices that remain more than 130 per cent higher than last year.

In total, the charity supported 174,500 people in the last year, almost one in 25 of Scotland’s adult population.

CAS chief executive Derek Mitchell said: “Higher demand for energy advice has further consequences, with people also seeking support around crisis grants and food insecurity.

“Policymakers should not be fooled into thinking warmer weather and potentially falling bills later this year will mean an end to this crisis.

“The winter has massively reduced people’s financial resilience and we will be living with the legacy of that for some time.”

Jonathan Bean, of Fuel Poverty Action, said: “The energy giants are enjoying record profits whilst people desperately seek help with unpayable bills. 

“Our rigged market needs complete reform. We must end the suffering and take power away from the dirty profiteering fossil fuel industry. 

“Cheap renewables now mean we can give every household their essential energy for free.”

Energy campaign group Power to the People warned that the cost-of-living crisis is not going away as the UK government chooses to subsidise private profits rather than curb prices.

It said the findings show “how desperately the advice sector needs funding,” but that the Scottish government has yet to allocate the £6 million it received from the debt advice levy.

The Scottish government said: “Tackling poverty and protecting people from impact of the current cost-of-living crisis is one of the Scottish government’s three critical missions.

“Most of the key policy levers needed to address this crisis lie with the UK government.

“We continue to urge them to use all the levers at their disposal to tackle this emergency on the scale required.”