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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

Continue ReadingCost-of-living crisis still hammering households as recession predicted

Three million households doomed to fuel poverty

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https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/three-million-households-doomed-to-be-trapped-in-fuel-poverty-by-2030

A gas fuelled fire in a home

THREE million households are doomed to remain trapped in fuel poverty by 2030 as the government is set to fail to meet its energy efficiency targets, according to new research.

The report surfaced as the Office of National Statistics (ONS) issued new data today that found that some four in 10 adults reported finding it “very” or “somewhat” difficult to afford their energy bills, while 14 per cent of those finding it hard to keep warm in their home also experienced difficulties affording food.

The National Energy Action and Energy Action Scotland report has found that the poorest households could be left paying £480 more a year to meet their energy needs while remaining in cold, damp and unhealthy homes.

It found that the government is projected to miss its target to upgrade the energy efficiency of homes to at least a band C “by a staggering margin.”

An independent analysis by Gemserv found there is a funding shortfall of at least £18 billion for the measures needed to meet the legal requirement to ensure fuel-poor homes in England are brought up to standard by 2030.

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https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/three-million-households-doomed-to-be-trapped-in-fuel-poverty-by-2030

Continue ReadingThree million households doomed to fuel poverty

Children in care 10 times more likely to end up in prison by age 24, figures suggest

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HMP Wormwood Scrubs, London. Image: Chmee2, CC BY-SA 3.0
File:Main gate to the HM Prison Wormwood Scrubs in spring 2013

https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/b/children-in-care-10-times-more-likely-to-end-up-in-prison-by-age-24-figures-suggest

CHILDREN in care are 10 times more likely to end up in prison by the time they reach 24 than those who grew up outside the system, official figures suggest.

The study by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) published today found that looked-after children were more at risk of coming into contact with the criminal justice system during early adulthood than their peers.

Looking at children in care who were born in the academic year ending 1994, the ONS found that more than half had received a criminal conviction by the time they turned 24.

This compares to 13 per cent of children who were not in care.

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Prison reform campaigners said the figures show more needs to be done to address the criminalisation of children in care.

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Continue ReadingChildren in care 10 times more likely to end up in prison by age 24, figures suggest