'There are some days when we won’t put the fire on'

New Action for Children research uncovers the cost-of-living turmoil facing millions of working families in the run-up to Christmas.

A case study highlighted by the charity was Tina Buchan (43), who lives in Inverness and has five children with her husband Moni Buchan (52).

Tina works full-time as a B&M deputy store manager and her husband is a chef.

He has struggled to find work near home and is currently working in London, leaving him apart from his family. Like so many families in Scotland, they are struggling to make ends meet this Christmas.

Tina was already struggling with the household budget before bills increased and, despite a recent promotion in work, is still being forced to take drastic measures to feed her children.

“There are some days we won’t put the fire on and just have blankets around us,” Tina said. “I don’t eat much anyway but some days I just have some beans on toast once or twice a day so my kids can have a proper meal.

“I'm pay as you go for my electric and I’m paying around £50 more a month just now. For heating, we have a coal fire and the price of coal has gone up a lot. The coal used to be £10 per bag and now it's gone up to £15 a bag so it’s having a big impact on our budget.

“I’m good at budgeting which is a godsend because if I wasn’t the stress would overwhelm me. I’m on a salary so my pay is the same each month which helps me know what I’m working with. Once I’ve paid my bills and bought some food for the house I’m hardly left with anything."

With five children, Christmas is a particularly difficult period for Tina. Her children are aware of the family’s financial struggles and do not have any expectations for Christmas presents.

“I’m lucky in that my kids don’t expect much and don’t ask for a lot because they know how expensive things can be,” she said. “They’re quite happy to have things like socks, pyjamas, and maybe a couple of wee toys. I speak to them properly about it. The youngest still believes in Santa Claus so he gets a couple of extra things but the others all know roughly what I’ll be giving them.

“I’m not one to ask for help, I’m too proud but last Christmas our support worker from Action for Children, Sarah Sproul, brought food hampers and some presents for all the kids. Having five kids is expensive so that made a big difference.”

The pressure of making ends meet is not only affecting Tina but the children as well. Her 16-year-old son Aiden has suffered from anxiety which led the family to initially coming into contact with Action for Children for support around two years ago. Thankfully, Aiden has come a long way since then and has “come out of his shell completely to the point that he’s a completely different person now”, according to his mother.

Unfortunately, Tina is now seeing her 10-year-old son Amir’s mental health impacted by the stress of the cost-of-living crisis and is arranging for him to receive support from Action for Children.

“I told the school two years ago that he was struggling to deal with his anxiety and I was told by the doctors that there’s nothing they could do at the moment because the children’s mental health waiting lists are so long.

“I’ve spoken to Sarah and she’s going to make sure Amir receives the support he needs through Action for Children. She has been amazing for this family and I can’t possibly thank her enough for everything she’s done to help us all. If it wasn’t for Action for Children, I don’t know where we’d be.”

Paul Carberry, national director for Scotland at Action for Children, said: “For most of us the festive season is a happy time, yet as our shocking research shows there will be children across Scotland who face a very different Christmas this year.

“Instead of enjoying a safe and happy time, many children will wake up on Christmas morning to no presents, food or warmth. Every day our frontline workers are helping families keep their heads above water, making sure they have the basics like hot meals and proper winter clothes, as well as offering emergency support to keep homes warm and help families pay the bills.

“In yet another year when children and families have been pushed deeper into crisis, supporting them is more important than ever.

“Poverty is not inevitable, it is about political choices. The Scottish government has made a big step in the journey to end child poverty via their Scottish Child Payment, which we supported and called for, but families now require urgent giant leaps from both the UK and Scottish Government to make child poverty consigned to the past.

“Until every family can keep their child warm and well fed, we’ll be there to help them – that’s why we’re asking people to donate to help us make a life-changing difference to vulnerable children this Christmas and beyond. With your help we can be a vital lifeline for even more children across Scotland.”

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