Energy bills are rising by 80% for millions of British homes and businesses, and even worse is predicted for next year. With the government in inertia, is the country facing a social and economic catastrophe? - The cold front

I'm scared when anyone says winter' For many, the energy bill rise is just one in a stack of growing problems

- Alex Lawson

A tear rolls down Shama Omar's face as she describes the pain of her disabled daughter's death last year, after 29 years of attentive care. It is a familiar tale of delays and a stretched health service. "If the GP had seen her on that day, my daughter would have not died," she says.

She is surviving on one cooked meal every two weeks, deciding whether to pay council tax, food or water. "I need to take cancer medication, which gives me hot flushes but I can't afford to have the fan on all the time," says Omar. "I had to think whether to spend £4.60 for the bus here, that could have helped me make meals for two days." Omar is among the millions waiting to see what further support the government may offer for energy bills. Last Friday, the industry regulator announced yet another rise in the price cap, pushing average household bills to £3,549 ($4,150) a year from October. By January, two-thirds of UK households are expected to be in fuel poverty . Omar sits across the table at a Leicester community centre run by the Zinthiya Trust, which was founded by a charity worker, Zinthiya Ganeshpanchan , to alleviate poverty and support domestic abuse survivors. Its work is part-funded by the British Gas Energy Trust , which is increasingly working on helping its customers, and those of other suppliers, pay their gas and electricity bills, along with support in clearing debts and finding extra cash through benefits checks.

In Leicester, it is immediately obvious that, while the soaring cost of energy is often presented as a standalone issue, it is just one in a stack of problems mounting up for many people who have complex circumstances.