More than 2m households already going without ‘heating or eating’ says Joseph Rowntree Foundation
About 7 million struggling families in the UK are living through a “frightening year of financial fear”, going without food, heating, toiletries and even showering as they try to cope with the cost of living crisis, a leading charity has said.
Many people are falling deep into debt as they try to stay afloat, using credit cards or cash from loan sharks to pay for food and other basics and building up arrears on energy bills, according to the Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF), an anti-poverty charity.
Debt is increasingly taking the strain for low-income households, which have borrowed £12.5bn of new debt in 2022, including £3.5bn from doorstep lenders and illegal loan sharks.
Arrears on all personal debt have more than doubled from £1.8bn to £3.8bn since October last year. As interest rates continue to rise, JRF expects this figure to soar.
Average household arrears across all bills were £1,600. An estimated 2 million low-income families were currently in arrears on energy bills, a rise of more than a quarter since October.
