Millions of Families Struggle to Pay for Food and Heat

Millions of families across the United Kingdom are having a hard time paying for the things they need most. A new report says 7.4 million households are struggling to buy food, pay energy bills, and cover other basic costs. The research comes from a group called the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, which studies poverty in the UK. They found that the cost of living has become a serious problem for a huge number of people. Many families say they feel stressed about money almost every single day.

The Joseph Rowntree Foundation tracked about 4,000 families from lower-income households to gather this data. These families are among the 40% of people in the UK with the lowest earnings. The charity found that food prices went up by 4.1% between May 2025 and May 2026. That is faster than the overall rise in prices, which was 3.6%. Because poorer families spend more of their money on food, rising food costs hit them the hardest.

A separate study by a charity called Christians Against Poverty found that about 35% of adults in the UK worry about money every single day. That means roughly one in three grown-ups feels anxious about their finances on a daily basis. The charity said that even small savings, like a government plan to cut energy costs by about £45 a year, are not enough to fix the problem. 'The fear of juggling budgets that simply don't balance remains,' said Juliette Flachm, who helps lead the charity's policy work. She added that many people are being forced to make impossible choices about what they can and cannot afford.

There is some good news, though. The number of poorer households that could not afford to keep their homes warm has dropped by half a million over the past two years. The government helped make this happen by lowering average energy bills by about £150 a year through changes to energy charges and programs like the Warm Homes Discount. Still, many families say they are still not able to turn on their ovens or heat their homes properly. The gap between what people earn and what things cost remains very wide for millions of people.

The UK's new Prime Minister, Andy Burnham, is being urged to do more to help struggling families. Chris Belfield, the chief economist at the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, said the government needs to step in more strongly. He called for action to control rising rents, make energy more affordable, and improve a benefit program called Universal Credit. Some people also want the government to fund free or low-cost activities for children from low-income families, such as youth clubs, holiday programs, and sports camps. They believe keeping children active and engaged can help ease some of the stress that poverty puts on families.

A government spokesperson said leaders are working hard to fight poverty and make life easier for people. They pointed out that household incomes have risen 5% in real terms and that food bank use has gone down. The government has also raised the National Minimum Wage and removed a rule that limited support for families with more than two children. They launched a £1 billion fund to act as a safety net for families in financial crisis. Officials say these steps are beginning to make a real difference, though many charities believe much more still needs to be done.