British life-style: 22.8 million people said they would have difficulty affording food or other essentials, such as their mortgage, rent or childcare

New research from Citizens Advice reveals that one in four people (25%, the equivalent of 16.5 million people) are so worried about increases in energy costs that they say they will be forced to turn off their heating and hot water this winter.

This increases to 31% of households with children, and 39% of bill payers on a low income, notes ‘The Citizens Advice’.

Citizens Advice is warning that without urgent intervention from the government, households will continue to face impossible choices and drastic cutbacks to be able to afford to heat their homes:

48% (35.1 million people) said they would have to turn down or turn off their heating or hot water.

34% (22.8 million people) said they would have difficulty affording food or other essentials, such as their mortgage, rent or childcare, and 7% (4.5 million people) said they would be forced to skip meals.

Nearly 5 million people (7% of households) across Great Britain live in households in debt to their energy supplier. This rises to more than 14% of households with children under 18.

What’s more, 5 million people are currently in a negative budget - meaning their essential monthly outgoings exceed their income. The predicted price cap increase of £150 would pull a further 187,000 people into a negative budget.

The government has inherited a challenging situation. With bills increasing and historic levels of energy debt, the new government must act fast to stop millions of households falling further into hardship this winter. While plans to focus the energy market on renewables could reduce energy bills in the long term, households in desperate need can’t afford to wait until then.

Until April, Nigel worked as a self-employed window fitter but was forced to stop working due to serious back problems. While he’s been unable to work, the price of gas and electricity has been a major source of stress for him. He has had no choice but to borrow from friends and family to pay for groceries and energy bills, and his local Citizens Advice has organised fuel and food bank vouchers for him. Nigel says:

“Trust me, I’m not looking forward to the winter. Before I got my first benefits payment, I’d had to borrow off people to cover my gas and electric. I’m moving onto Universal Credit soon, and I know that around half of the amount I’m awarded will end up going towards fuel.

“How can you make a budget work when your gas and electric is dearer than what you’re paying to actually eat? I can honestly say I can feel my body is starting to shut down because of the stress. It’s the worry of trying to find money for the electric and gas, trying to find money to get bits of food. It’s Dickensian. Without fuel vouchers from Citizens Advice I would have been sitting in darkness, and I wouldn’t have been able to take hot baths, which I need to ease my back pain.”

Louise Steel, Debt Caseworker and Advice Services Manager, Citizens Advice Wyre Forest, said:

“As we go into autumn and winter, we know more people will be needing our support. We rely on recruiting more volunteers in the colder months to cope with the inevitable rise in demand for our services. When people are struggling to keep up with their energy bills, everything else is impacted.”

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