More people than ever are going without essentials, and an increasing range of families are being affected by the cost of living crisis, but it doesn’t have to be this way according to a report out today
The Joseph Rowntree Foundation’s report shows The cost-of-living crisis is becoming more widespread, with 7.4 million low-income families unable to afford essential items in the last 6 months — the highest number since they began running our cost of living tracker survey in 2021.
Since May 2024, shortly before the current Labour Government came to power, there has also been an increase in the number of families being forced to cut back on meals or go hungry, an increase in the number of families in arrears on their household bills and credit repayments, and an increase in the number of families borrowing money from high-cost lenders such as loan sharks and payday lenders to buy essentials.
62% of respondents to the survey have not been able to afford at least 1 essential item in the last 6 months.
It doesn’t have to be this way. Government policy can make a difference says the report
Over the same period, the number of households that cannot afford to keep their home warm has fallen by almost 550,000, reflecting a combination of falling global energy prices and direct Government intervention to bring bills down by an average of £150 a year from April 2026.
Households that are most likely to be unable to afford essentials are those in receipt of Universal Credit (UC), those headed up by someone under the age of 25, those headed up by someone from a Black or Mixed ethnic background, those containing non-UK citizens, and those with 3 or more children or in lone-parent families. More than 80% of each of these households have been unable to afford an essential item in the last 6 months. For those in receipt of UC who also have a deduction applied, the proportion going without essentials is more than 90%, while almost every household (95%) in receipt of a UC advanced payment have had to go without an essential item.
However, the increase in the number of households that are going without essentials has mainly been driven by those who are typically less likely to suffer from material deprivation. The number of households going without essentials has increased fastest over the last 2 years for those not on means-tested benefits, those who own their property outright without a mortgage, families without any disabilities or health conditions, childless households, and households that are headed up by someone over the age of 65
Almost half of all low-income families responding to the survey said they had gone hungry, cut down the size of their meals, or skipped meals in the last 30 days because they didn’t have enough money for food.
Scaled up across the country this equates to 5.6 million households that are going without food because they cannot afford it, a number that has continued to edge up over the last couple of years, from 5.5 million in May 2025 and 5.3 million 2 years ago .
