1 in 4 UK homes going without essentials, as charities come together to demand cost of living crisis action

Little Village has joined organisations, including Save the Children, Shelter, Turn2Us and 38 Degrees to form Together Through This Crisis, which is a one stop shop for combatting the cost of living crisis. Working with organisations across the country it is a space for people to find support, give their time or money and call on the government to do its bit. The group has asked the public to sign an open letter to government, which has now been signed by over 44,000 people. You can read more about Together Through This Crisis in the press release below.

 

1 in 4 UK homes going without essentials, as charities come together to demand cost of living crisis action 

A quarter of households regularly run out of money for essentials, and voters don’t believe the UK Government is doing enough to help, new figures released by a group of leading charities and campaigning organisations today shows.

The new polling highlights the devastating impact of the cost of living crisis across the country, showing how people in both the country’s most deprived areas and its most affluent ones are struggling to get by. The poll, conducted by Survation, questioned people in both the 100 most deprived and the 100 least deprived constituencies in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, with the majority in both groups agreeing that the UK Government’s cost of living action is insufficient.

The figures have been released to mark the launch of a new initiative in response to the cost of living crisis which some of the UK’s biggest charities and organisations have teamed up to create. Together Through This Crisis a one stop shop for combating the cost of living crisis,  has been set up by Save the Children, Turn2us, Little Village, Shelter and 38 Degrees, working with organisations across the country, and is a space for people to find support, give their time or money, and call on the Westminster government to do its bit.

Ahead of the Spring Budget the group has launched an open letter backed by charities, businesses, Metro Mayors and over 37,800 thousand members of the public. The letter, addressed to the Prime Minister and the Chancellor, asks them to take action to ensure the crisis illustrated by these figures does not become the UK’s ‘new normal’.

The poll conducted by Survation for the Together Through The Crisis initiative, shows:

• Nationally, 37% of people end the month with no money left over, while nearly a quarter of people (24%) run out of money for essentials either most months or most days. Only 35% of people finish the month with some money to put aside for the future.
• Even among the 10 most affluent constituencies in the UK, 19% of people say they find themselves unable to pay for the likes of food or bills by the end of most months. That rises to 26% of people in the 10 most deprived constituencies.
• Across the country 6% of people are trying to survive on incomes so low that they can’t pay for essentials most days – a figure that rises to 11%, more than one in ten people, in the UK’s 100 most deprived constituencies.
• Nationally,67% of people described the UK Government as “not doing enough” to address the cost of living crisis, while 65% said Prime Minister Rishi Sunak wasn’t doing enough. 69% of people in the UK’s best off constituencies said the UK Government wasn’t doing enough (66% in the most deprived constituencies).
• By contrast,59% of the country said charities and voluntary organisations were doing either ‘enough’ or ‘more than enough’, while 53% said their friends and neighbours were doing either “enough” or “more than enough”.
• People were most likely to say that charities were doing their bit to tackle the cost of living crisis, nationally in both the best and worst off constituencies in the UK.
• Friends and neighbours were seen as the second-most helpful group, with trade unions coming above Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, the UK Government, and opposition political parties.

Matthew McGregor, CEO at campaign group 38 Degrees, said:

“This polling paints a bleak picture of the crisis unfolding across the country: families running out of money to put food on the table and keep kids warm is rapidly becoming our new normal.

“As the Spring statement looms, a united message is coming through loud and clear from the British public – in the most and least deprived corners of our country – Rishi Sunak and Jeremy Hunt: do your jobs. Stop kids going hungry, end the energy bill ticking timebomb and relieve the sickening worry from families fearing the worst.”

Sophie Livingstone MBE, CEO of Little Village, which runs a baby bank network, said: “Baby banks across the country are supporting families in desperate situations.  Watering down formula and rationing nappies are not choices any parent should have to make. The Government must recognise this is a national crisis.  Families need them to take action now.”

Dan Paskins, Director of UK Impact at Save The Children, said: “Whether you’re in a rich or poor area, the majority of people believe the UK government isn’t doing enough to help people in the cost of living crisis. Families are now existing month to month, even day to day in some cases and going without essentials, making us deeply worried about the impact this has on children.
“The Spring Budget is a chance to take action to help families and one valuable step forwards would be to provide free school meals to all families on Universal Credit. Investing in a childcare system that works, especially for parents on low incomes, and a social security system that provides a reliable safety net are other crucial ways to ease the burden.”

Polly Neate, Chief Executive of Shelter said: “Every day our frontline services hear from people who are at risk of losing their homes because housing benefit has been frozen since 2020, while rents have reached record highs. Families are facing impossible decisions between eating and keeping a roof over their heads.

“The cost-of-living crisis is bringing the country to its knees. The government cannot ignore this any longer, it must take action now and unfreeze housing benefit so that people can afford to pay their rent. Otherwise struggling families with nothing left to cut back on have no hope of avoiding homelessness.”

Thomas Lawson, chief executive of UK poverty charity Turn2us, said: “Too many people in our own communities are in financial crisis or weighed down by the fear of tipping into it. The Government must provide a better emergency lifeline to families with nothing left to pay for the basics.

“But tackling the causes of this crisis means creating a social security system that trusts, supports and empowers people to live with dignity and hope for the future. Listening to people about the realities of their lives is the first step and we want to work with Government to make that happen.”

The open letter has been signed by more than 40 prominent organisations and public figures so far, including Action for Children; The National Education Union and The Royal National Institute for Blind People.

The letter, which has also been signed by 37,800 members of the public and counting, reads: 

Rishi Sunak and Jeremy Hunt: don’t let this become our new normal.

Together we face a cost of living crisis, which has turned into a catastrophe. 

In Britain in 2023, parents are having to choose between buying nappies or food, between new school shoes or a winter coat; pensioners are going cold and skipping meals; disabled people are struggling to heat their homes or run vital medical equipment; and a quarter of us are kept up at night worrying about keeping the roof over our heads.

Don’t let this become our new normal.

People are doing their best, charities and volunteers are doing their bit, but the UK government needs to do its job. We’re calling on the Prime Minister and the Chancellor, in the Spring Statement, to pull us out of this catastrophe and:

• Help us heat our homes– provide effective, ongoing support for Brits struggling to pay our energy bills during this crisis, and boost insulation so our bills keep coming down.
• Make sure kids aren’t going hungry –by expanding free school meals to all children, prioritising families receiving Universal Credit or equivalent benefits. 
• Keep a roof over our heads – unfreezing housing benefit so we can stay in our homes as rents soar.
• Give a lifeline when times are tough – when it becomes impossible to pay our bills and feed our families, a system which treats us with dignity and helps us get back on our feet.

People can get help, give help and add their own names to the open letter at: https://togetherthroughthis.org/ 

Polling was conducted by Survation for Together Through This Crisis. Three separate polls were carried out to assess views in the most and least deprived constituencies and across the UK. 

National poll: Fieldwork conducted: 10th – 14th February 2023; Population sampled: All residents aged 18+ living in the UK; Sample size: 2,014 respondents 

Most deprived poll: Fieldwork conducted: 10th – 17 February 2023; Population sampled: residents aged 18+ living in the 100 most deprived constituencies in the UK; Sample size: 1169

Least deprived poll: Fieldwork: 10th – 17th February 2023; Population sampled: residents aged 18+ living in the 100 least deprived constituencies in the UK; Sample size: 1049;

The full list of the 100 most and least deprived constituencies which were polled for this work can be found here.