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Out
of nearly 15,000 households surveyed between Feb. 8 and May 1,
5% said they had run out of food in the previous two weeks and
been unable to buy more, rising to 28% for households with a
single parent and at least one child.
Consumer price inflation hit a 41-year peak of 11.1% in October
2022, and food price inflation reached its highest since 1977 in
March at more than 19%.
British supermarkets say prices are now beginning to come down,
although figures from the British Retail Consortium trade body
showed that prices in June were still nearly 15% greater than a
year earlier.
The Office for National Statistics will release its June
inflation data on Wednesday.
Britain's main welfare benefits rose by 10.1% in April and the
government provided extra support for energy bills.
Despite this, 21% of benefit recipients still reported running
out of money for food, the ONS said.
Pressures are greatest for larger families, as support payments
since 2017 have been limited to a maximum of two children per
household, with limited exceptions.
The ONS survey also showed that people renting their homes were
generally under greater financial pressure than homeowners with
mortgages. Forty-three percent of renters said it was very or
somewhat difficult to afford their rent, compared with 28% of
people with mortgages.
Bank of England interest rates have increased to 5% from 0.1% in
December 2021 and are expected to rise further, prompting the
government to request lenders give mortgage-holders in arrears
up to a year before repossessing their homes.
Tenants who miss rent payments generally have less time before
facing eviction. Some small landlords are also selling up or
raising rent in response to higher mortgage costs and increased
regulation on the sector.
(Reporting by David Milliken, editing by Andy Bruce)
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