https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/publications/bare-necessities/
Essentials take up more of households’ total spending than they have in the past, with spending on essentials for low-income households increasing the most. A more essentials-heavy spending basket also left poorer families facing faster price growth in recent years.
Higher energy costs, coupled with rapid food inflation, have led to hardship for many. Energy arrears more than doubled in real terms between the end of 2019 and the end of 2024 (from £1.6 billion to £3.9 billion), while the share of working-age adults in very low food security rose from 3.9 per cent to 6.0 per cent between 2021-22 and 2023-24, with the rate for children climbing from 5.6 per cent to 9.4 per cent.
To help households who are struggling to afford essentials costs, the Government should introduce a social tariff to target support with energy bills towards people who need it the most. They should also target concessionary bus passes to low-income people on benefits, and ensure that low-income households have access to EV charging at a fair cost. Benefit uprating should be improved, so that incomes are more resistant to price shocks.