Cost of Living crisis

‘Bolder action is needed:’ Anti-poverty campaigners issue home truths for the Chancellor ahead of Spring Budget

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https://leftfootforward.org/2024/02/bolder-action-is-needed-anti-poverty-campaigners-issue-home-truths-for-the-chancellor-ahead-of-spring-budget/

‘Cost of living support may be receding but the tide of people not being able to afford life’s essentials is not. It is time we moved from stop-gaps to sustainable solutions.’

February 22, 2024, marked the last of the cost of living payments being sent out. The cash top-ups had been awarded to people receiving means-tested benefits, disability benefits, and pension credits, at regular intervals over the course of the cost of living crisis. They have been a lifeline for around eight million low-income families.

But with rising living costs driving disadvantaged households further into poverty, with prices still rising despite inflation easing, and food and energy remaining at extortionate levels, charities and experts have warned that the payments are not enough. They have expressed fears about what may happen if the government does not announce additional payments.

The final cost of living payment has renewed calls for the introduction of a system that is there whenever anyone falls on hard times, rather than being just a ‘stop gap’ solution.

Ahead of the Spring Budget on March 6, anti-poverty charities and campaigners are calling on the Chancellor for bolder action to tackle poverty during the cost of living crisis.

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https://leftfootforward.org/2024/02/bolder-action-is-needed-anti-poverty-campaigners-issue-home-truths-for-the-chancellor-ahead-of-spring-budget/

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“Six million UK households still in fuel poverty despite energy bill drop”

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https://www.energylivenews.com/2024/02/23/six-million-uk-households-still-in-fuel-poverty-despite-energy-bill-drop/

Dimitris Mavrokefalidis

Ofgem’s announcement of a 12% drop in energy bills for April to June is welcomed, but National Energy Action warns that six million UK households will still face fuel poverty

Today, Ofgem revealed the energy price cap for April to June, showing a 12% drop in typical annual energy bills to £1,690.

Despite this reduction, National Energy Action (NEA) cautions that 6 million UK households will continue to grapple with fuel poverty.

This figure marks a significant increase from the 4.5 million households affected at the onset of the energy crisis in October 2021.

The persistent challenge of fuel poverty is exacerbated by the fact that current energy bills remain 49% higher than pre-crisis levels.

Adam Scorer, Chief Executive of NEA, said: “This is, of course, good news – any fall in energy bills is welcome. However, the drop coming in April still leaves bills significantly higher than they were before the energy crisis began.

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https://www.energylivenews.com/2024/02/23/six-million-uk-households-still-in-fuel-poverty-despite-energy-bill-drop/

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UK energy bills could rise under government plans to fund nuclear

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https://www.politico.eu/article/energy-bills-rise-under-uk-government-plans-fund-nuclear/

A final investment for the plants is planned before the next election | Carl Court/Getty Images

LONDON — The U.K. government is mulling plans which would hike household energy bills to help pay for a new nuclear energy plant.

Ministers are considering tweaking the funding deal for Sizewell C, a proposed £20 billion nuclear plant in Suffolk, as they scramble to attract investors.

Under one proposal being looked at in Whitehall, the development would be part funded by electricity suppliers — and those firms “would be expected to pass these costs onto consumers through their electricity bills,” according to a consultation paper on the plans.

The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero is set to publish its response to that consultation later this week, according to two industry figures granted anonymity to discuss the process.

Officials insist potential additional charges to consumers would be low. But any move leading to higher bills would be controversial during a cost-of-living crisis driven by two years of rising energy costs.

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https://www.politico.eu/article/energy-bills-rise-under-uk-government-plans-fund-nuclear/

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UK economy suffering ‘long-term’ economic cost of Brexit, Goldman Sachs group says

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https://leftfootforward.org/2024/02/uk-economy-suffering-long-term-economic-cost-of-brexit-goldman-sachs-group-says/

“The evidence points to a significant long-run output cost of Brexit,” the economists at Goldman’s wrote.

Yet more evidence has emerged of just how disastrous the decision to leave the EU has been for the UK economy, with economists at Goldman Sachs group saying that real GDP has underperformed by about 5%.

In a research note published earlier this month, Sven Jari Stehn and colleagues said that Brexit had resulted in reduced growth and higher inflation, with ‘reduced international trade, weak business investment and a drop in migrants coming from Britain’s largest trade partner all contributing’, Bloomberg has reported.

It comes as a number of studies have warned of the harmful consequences of Brexit, with the Bank of England saying last year that the decision to leave the EU has cost the average UK household £1,000, due to a lack of investment following the referendum.

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https://leftfootforward.org/2024/02/uk-economy-suffering-long-term-economic-cost-of-brexit-goldman-sachs-group-says/

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Cost-of-living crisis still hammering households as recession predicted

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https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/cost-living-crisis-still-hammering-households-recession-predicted

Image of cash and pre-payment meter key
Image of cash and pre-payment meter key

THE cost-of-living crisis is still hammering households in every corner of the country, the TUC warned today, as inflation figures remained unchanged and Britain is believed to have slipped into recession.

The union body called for ministers to extend cost-of-living payments which are set to end by March after figures by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) revealed that Consumer Price Index (CPI) inflation remained at 4 per cent in January.

Food prices fell for the first time by 0.4 per cent since September 2021, with the cost of bread and cereals, cream crackers and chocolate biscuits falling, the ONS said.

The costs are still 7 per cent higher than a year ago.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak insisted that the economy has “turned the corner” following the data.

But the ONS is due to publish gross domestic product (GDP) figures for December on Thursday and is predicted by experts to reveal that Britain’s economy contracted for the second quarter in a row in the final three months of 2023.

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https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/cost-living-crisis-still-hammering-households-recession-predicted

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