Wednesday, May 17, 2023
A crisis with no apparent end
The Indepedent reports on a study that has shown that more than 10 million adults in the UK are currently struggling with bills with some eating less and cancelling insurance policies in order to get by.
They say that the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) found the number in financial trouble has grown by 3.1 million since May 2022 to now represent one in five of the population. Many have been forced to take measures such as using savings to fill an oil tank, using credit to pay for food shopping, cancelling insurance, quitting sports memberships and eating less:
The FCA research, which was published this week, found the number to have said they are struggling has risen from 7.8 million in May last year to 10.9 million in January 2023 - which is 21 per cent of the UK population.
The number of UK adults who had missed bills or loan payments in at least three of the previous six months is also estimated by the regulator to have increased by 1.4 million, from 4.2 million in May 2022 to 5.6 million in January 2023.
The regulator released the latest figures after gathering more than 5,000 responses as part of its UK-wide survey of people aged 18 and over.
Among people who had insurance and protection policies last spring, 8 per cent had cancelled one or more policies and 7 per cent had reduced their level of cover, specifically to save money due to rising living costs, in the six months to January this year.
Some did both – meaning that around 6.2 million adults who had policies in May 2022 had cancelled or reduced their coverage by January.
Richard Lane, director of external affairs at British debt charity StepChange, said: “The last twelve months have seen household budgets endure setback after setback, with once-in-a-generation levels of inflation compounded by rising interest rates and housing costs.
“Millions have had to make sacrifices to stay afloat, but many simply do not have the room in their budgets to absorb the dramatic price rises we’ve seen. As a result, demand for our services is at its highest level in more than three years, and we expect this to continue as cost pressures show little sign of abating.”
The FCA also found that around 28.4 million people in January 2023 felt more anxious or stressed due to the rising cost of living than six months earlier while 28 per cent had lost sleep.
With inflation in double figures, and likely to stay like that for some time, rising interest rates, soaring food prices and shortages caused by Brexit red tape, it does not look like there will be much relief for these families for some time to come.
They say that the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) found the number in financial trouble has grown by 3.1 million since May 2022 to now represent one in five of the population. Many have been forced to take measures such as using savings to fill an oil tank, using credit to pay for food shopping, cancelling insurance, quitting sports memberships and eating less:
The FCA research, which was published this week, found the number to have said they are struggling has risen from 7.8 million in May last year to 10.9 million in January 2023 - which is 21 per cent of the UK population.
The number of UK adults who had missed bills or loan payments in at least three of the previous six months is also estimated by the regulator to have increased by 1.4 million, from 4.2 million in May 2022 to 5.6 million in January 2023.
The regulator released the latest figures after gathering more than 5,000 responses as part of its UK-wide survey of people aged 18 and over.
Among people who had insurance and protection policies last spring, 8 per cent had cancelled one or more policies and 7 per cent had reduced their level of cover, specifically to save money due to rising living costs, in the six months to January this year.
Some did both – meaning that around 6.2 million adults who had policies in May 2022 had cancelled or reduced their coverage by January.
Richard Lane, director of external affairs at British debt charity StepChange, said: “The last twelve months have seen household budgets endure setback after setback, with once-in-a-generation levels of inflation compounded by rising interest rates and housing costs.
“Millions have had to make sacrifices to stay afloat, but many simply do not have the room in their budgets to absorb the dramatic price rises we’ve seen. As a result, demand for our services is at its highest level in more than three years, and we expect this to continue as cost pressures show little sign of abating.”
The FCA also found that around 28.4 million people in January 2023 felt more anxious or stressed due to the rising cost of living than six months earlier while 28 per cent had lost sleep.
With inflation in double figures, and likely to stay like that for some time, rising interest rates, soaring food prices and shortages caused by Brexit red tape, it does not look like there will be much relief for these families for some time to come.
