Almost eight million people are struggling to pay their household bills.
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) estimated that 7.8 million people in the UK currently find bills a “heavy burden”, up from 5.3 million in 2020. Energy, food and fuel prices have risen sharply in the last six months.
Inflation – the rate at which prices rise – increased to 10.1% last month, returning to a 40-year high. UK food prices jumped 14.6% in the year to September – the biggest annual rise since 1980 – with the cost of key goods like fruit, milk, cereal and sugar all climbing.
The FCA surveye found:
One in four adults described themselves as being financially vulnerable, meaning they would quickly find themselves in difficultly if they suffered a financial shockSome 4.2 million people had missed bills or loan repayments in at least three of the six months before the survey took place27% of black respondents said they found it a heavy burden to keep up with bills, compared with around 15% of UK adults generally.