// BBC BUSINESS NEWS — FINANZA
'It's cost upon cost for working families - they get no help'
Leomi White, in Rawmarsh, says working families are struggling with the cost of living
Families who earn just above the threshold to miss out on benefits are struggling with the cost of living and need more help from the government, a charity in the chancellor of the exchequer's constituency has said.
Chancellor John Healey's Rawmarsh and Conisbrough constituency straddles Rotherham and Doncaster and within it, according to Rotherham Council, the wards of Rawmarsh East and Rawmarsh West have deprivation levels well above the borough and national averages.
Meanwhile, parts of Rawmarsh are among the top 20% of deprived areas in England.
While Healey recently spoke about the need to support businesses, families will have to wait until the budget at the end of next month to see if there will be any help for them.
"I went to a supermarket and it cost nearly £7 for a box of cereal. I nearly put it back, it's ridiculous," says Leomi White, project coordinator at Activate Rawmarsh.
The charity where White works is based at the High Street Centre in Rawmarsh and it supports families and organises activities for children and young people in Rotherham.
Families want Chancellor John Healey (pictured) to give them more financial help, White says
According to White, working families on low incomes not only struggle to pay their bills, but miss out on schemes such as free school meals and subsidised holiday clubs.
"When I talk to families, the cost of living keeps cropping up," she says.