Cost Of Living Crisis ‘To Trap 45 Million In Fuel Poverty'

Exclusive - Study predicts widescale UK turmoil as inflation soars to 40-year high

- Pippa Crerar

Two-thirds of UK households to be in fuel poverty by January – study

Two-thirds of all UK households will be trapped in fuel poverty by January as planned government support leaves even middle-income homes struggling to pay their bills, according to new research.

It shows 18 million families, the equivalent of 45 million people, will be left trying to make ends meet after further predicted rises in the energy price cap in October and January.

Some 86.4% of pensioner couples are expected to fall into fuel poverty, traditionally defined as when energy costs exceed 10% of a household’s net income, and 90.4% of lone parents with two or more children.

The new study by the University of York also shows huge regional variation in the cost of living crisis, with 57.9% of households in the southeast predicted to be struggling with energy bills by January, compared with 70.9% of families in the West Midlands and 76.3% in Northern Ireland.

The figures come after inflation soared to a 40-year high of 10.1% – heaping more pain on households as the cost of food, energy and fuel all increased.

The Bank of England faced criticism for being too slow to respond to the growing crisis. The Asda chairman, Lord Rose, accused it of being “very, very slow in recognising this train coming down the tunnel”.

The Conservative peer also criticised the government, which will fund a £400 universal energy grant in October as well as further support targeted at the poorest families, for a “horrifying” lack of action over inflation. “It’s going to be painful for everybody,” he told BBC radio.