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Nearly a quarter of Britons struggling to pay bills, survey reveals

Tuesday, 26 April 2022 10:11 AM [ Last Update: Tuesday, 26 April 2022 10:11 AM ]

The sun rises behind electricity pylons near Chester, northern England October 24, 2011. (Photo by Reuters)

Nearly a quarter of people in the UK say they are struggling to pay household bills even before the new hike in regulated energy prices takes effect, an official survey from a leading body has revealed.

The survey findings published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) on Sunday show that it was difficult or very difficult for around 23 percent of people surveyed in March to pay their monthly bills in contrast with a year ago, up from 17 percent in November.

More than 43 percent of respondents said it was very or somewhat difficult to afford household energy bills in the month of March.

The study was conducted before the government this month hiked the maximum amount that can be charged by energy suppliers by 54 percent.

The new change in prices will affect around 22 million households across the country.

“The combination of shrinking pay packets and rising costs mean that the pressure on households is building,” Jack Leslie, Senior Economist at the Resolution Foundation, was quoted as saying.

“This is set to get worse, with the estimated number of households experiencing fuel stress hitting five million this month,” he said, putting the onus on the government to protect those who will be “hardest hit”.

Underscoring the breadth of a cost of living crisis in the country, the ONS survey showed 43 percent of people saying they would be unable to save money over the next 12 months.

Cost of living crisis hits UK, about to get worse

People across Britain will face difficult choices to warm their homes in the coming months with energy costs surging by a whopping 54 percent, effective April 1.

The development comes as consumer confidence in the country has touched an all-time low, as per official figures.

According to previous figures by the ONS, retail sales volumes dropped by 1.4 percent in March from February, with food and petrol sales declining sharply in the same period, because of rising prices across the country.

“The sharp decline in sales in March suggests that households are already paring back spending to cope with higher costs for food and fuel,” economist Bethany Beckett of Capital Economics was quoted as saying in a BBC report.

“That is only likely to worsen in the coming months as the cost of living crisis intensifies,” he warned.

Last month, Britain's budget watchdog said the consumer price inflation rate could hit almost 9 percent later this year, predicting that living standards in 2022 would fall by the most since at least the 1950s.

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