Record number of households unable to afford essentials – cost-of-living poll

The number of households unable to afford basic essentials such as food and heating is at a record high, according to new research which suggests the rise has been driven mainly by those traditionally less likely to be struggling.

An estimated 7.4 million low-income UK households were not able to afford at least one essential item in the last six months, anti-poverty organisation the Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF) said.

This is the highest number since it began running its cost-of-living tracker survey in 2021 and is an increase from 7.1 million a year ago.

The figures which involved a survey of 4,121 households in the bottom 40% of incomes between May 7 and June 5, mean Andy Burnham begins his premiership in Downing Street “at a time when the cost-of-living crisis has never been more widely felt”, JRF said.

Their analysis suggests more than half of households not on means-tested benefits such as universal credit (UC) are struggling (53%), up from 47% two years ago.

The JRF report, published on Wednesday, said: “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 two 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.”

Overall, households most likely to be unable to afford essentials are those on UC, headed up by someone under 25, by someone from a black or mixed ethnicity background, those containing non-UK citizens, and those with three or more children or in single-parent families.

Of those households on UC, 84% were unable to afford an essential item in the past six months, the latest survey suggested.

Essential items in the survey included food, basic toiletries, heating, suitable clothing and shoes.

Mr Burnham has started his time in Number 10 telling the country he wants to “give people breathing space”, and on his second day in the job announced an £850 million tax cut on electricity bills which will save households around £45 per year as part of efforts to “put more money in people’s pockets and bring back hope”.

While the VAT cut was welcomed by experts as a “positive statement of intent”, they warned it “does not address the scale of what households are facing” amid forecasts that household energy prices will remain high throughout this winter.

While figures this week indicated grocery price inflation has slowed to its lowest rate since December 2024, the average household’s grocery bill over the year to July is still £156 higher than the same period a year earlier.

JRF’s chief economist Chris Belfield said: “Andy Burnham starts his time as prime minister at a time when the cost-of-living crisis has never been more widely felt.

“This ongoing crisis is not numbers in a spreadsheet, it is not graphs trending up or down, it is families not being able to afford basic essential goods like food, heating and basic toiletries.

“The number of people not able to afford these essentials has hit record levels – 7.4 million households.

“This is the challenge facing Andy Burnham’s administration, but there is cause for optimism. Following the Government’s intervention to take £150 a year off energy bills and falling wholesale energy prices, half-a-million fewer households are unable to heat their home than two years ago.

“Government policy can work. We need greater intervention to control rental prices, make energy affordable and improve the adequacy of universal credit so everyone can afford the essentials.”

A Government spokesperson said: “We’re determined to turn the tide on poverty after years of rising hardship. Our recent statistics show that effort is beginning to make a difference – household incomes have risen 5% in real terms, food bank usage has fallen, and food insecurity is down.

“Work is under way to tackle the cost-of-living pressures through measures such as increasing the national minimum wage, removing the two-child limit, implementing the first ever sustained above inflation increase to universal credit, and launching the £1 billion Crisis and Resilience Fund which will act as a genuine safety net for those in financial crisis.”

Published: 22/07/2026 by Radio NewsHub