A social media campaign encouraging residents to seek help if they were struggling financially over the festive period has contributed to a reduction in rent and rate arrears in Port St Mary, the village’s local authority has said.

Port St Mary Commissioners confirmed that its rent arrears, which would normally increase by between £5,000 and £6,000 over the winter period, were around half that level following the campaign. Rate arrears have also fallen by 11 per cent over the past year.

The initiative involved regular social media posts reminding residents that support was available if they were finding it difficult to keep up with payments and encouraging them to seek advice before debts built up.

Commissioners’ chair Jean Teare told the Local Democracy Service that the messages were aimed at signposting people to appropriate agencies and charities, particularly during a time of year when financial pressures can increase.

She said: ‘We’ve put out on social media basically weekly that if people were struggling, they should go and seek help rather than letting the debts build up, and that has had a really positive effect.

‘In terms of our rates, we’ve found that the debt has actually been reduced by 11 per cent over the period of a year, and we intend to keep doing that because we feel it’s important that people have that message.’

Mrs Teare said the period around Christmas was often when arrears tended to rise, as residents prioritised family spending and day-to-day bills could be overlooked.

‘The message that went out over Christmas is that it’s often a period that you find is worse for some residents, and you find that your arrears do go up during that period,’ she said.

‘It is because it’s a family time. People want to buy presents and their priority is to please their family. Sometimes the actual overheads can get forgotten.’

She said the campaign was designed to remind people that support was available if they had ‘overstretched’, including advice on managing debts or setting up payment plans.

Mrs Teare referred to a range of support options available to residents, including debt advice services and Citizens Advice, as well as engagement directly with the commissioners where appropriate.

She said: ‘This way it’s just reminding them that if they have overstretched they can go and talk to agencies and seek some help, maybe a payment plan. There’s debt advice out there and counselling, and support from the commissioners and the board.’

Asked about the wider role of local authorities in supporting residents during periods of financial difficulty, Mrs Teare said it was essential that councils took a compassionate approach.

‘It’s very important,’ she said. ‘Local authorities should always have a social conscience, and part of our board strategy is to look after those that do have difficulties, and that will be ongoing.’

The commissioners are now considering whether to continue the social media campaign in the longer term, although Mrs Teare said it would not be constant.

‘We will look at doing it permanently, but not all the time,’ she said.