Figures for January 2023 found that Scottish CABs helped 22,345 people by providing over 93,000 pieces of advice, representing a 10% increase in client numbers compared from January 2022.

In addition, CAS online advice pages saw the highest number of page views outside of the pandemic, and the third highest number of page views ever. In total in January, the advice pages saw 247,594 users.

Concerns around energy bills continue to be a significant factor in this, as gas and electricity advice was the single highest issue in January with people needing help over 11,700 times.

Long-term trends also point to two concerns around energy. Firstly a drop in people looking for energy efficiency advice due to the pandemic, but an increase in people needing advice regarding their debt to an energy supplier - close to three times higher than it was before the pandemic.

CAS chief executive Derek Mitchell said: “The worst cost of living crisis in living memory is driving increased demand for advice from CABs, with over 22,000 people getting help in January.

“Combined with record views of our online information pages it is clear that people in Scotland are feeling the squeeze and are worried about their bills.

“In December energy advice overtook Universal Credit advice for the first time in our network, and this continued into January. Given that social security-related advice has dominated CAB demand since welfare reform in the early 2010s, this is significant.

“Longer-term trends around energy should also be a cause for concern. People are seeking help around debt to their energy supplier more and more, with demand almost three times what it was before the pandemic.

“While that demand grows, online page views around energy efficiency has dropped. That may speak to people prioritising essential spending over home improvements, but it is a concern given Scotland’s Net Zero aspirations, as well of the resilience of individual households to deal with spikes in energy bills in the future. Ultimately the cheapest energy is the energy you don’t use and well-insulated, energy-efficient homes can help deliver that.

“Anyone who is worried about bills and money should seek advice from the Citizens Advice network, whether that is from a local CAB or our online resources. Our advice is free, impartial and confidential. We are for everyone – whether you are working or not. Our advisers get real results with one in six people who sought advice last year seeing some sort of financial gain, the average value of which was over £4,200. That could be absolutely life-changing money for people during this crisis.”