the mirror can reveal families could suffer a £2,000 a year average hit from the cost of living crisis ­gripping the nation. boris johnson has been accused of ignoring the growing problem  exclusive: families to be left £2,000 a year worse off as cost of living continues to soar  struggling brits have been warned to brace for a financial nightmare this spring as ­soaring bills, tax hikes and wage cuts batter household budgets.  the mirror can reveal families could suffer a £2,000 a year average hit from the cost of living crisis ­gripping the nation.  boris johnson has been accused of ignoring the growing problem as he fights to save his own skin while engulfed by the partygate storm.  british retail consortium figures today show shop price inflation nearly doubled to 1.5% last month, the highest for almost a decade.  grocery costs are rising even faster and to make matters worse, the bank of england is expected hike interest rates tomorrow, with experts predicting it could soar from 0.25% to 0.5%.  image: parliament.tv) parliament.tv)  ofgem are also to confirm on monday the energy cap for customers on standard and other default tariffs will rocket by more than £600 to £1,900 a year from april 1.  chancellor rishi sunak has confirmed national insurance payments will rise that month, hitting poor families the hardest.  resolution foundation think tank head torsten bell warned the crisis will be “catastrophic for low incomes households as we head into april”.  shadow chancellor rachel reeves said: “these new figures drive home just how hard the cost of living crisis will hit people. yet the ­chancellor wants to whack up business and working people’s taxes.”  image: pa) pa)  industry experts kantar said yesterday grocery prices rose 3.8% year-on-year over the past month. its head of retail and consumer insight fraser mckevitt added: “prices are rising on many fronts. the weekly shop is no exception.  “we’re likely to see shoppers striving to keep costs down by searching for cheaper products.”  brc chief executive helen ­dickinson said: “food prices continue to rise, especially domestic produce which have been impacted by poor harvests, labour shortages, and rising global prices.  “retailers are working hard to cut costs, but it’s impossible to protect consumers from future rises.” shadow treasury minister pat mcfadden accused no10 of being ­“hopelessly distracted” from the cost of living crisis over partygate.  he added: “they are more focused on infighting than tackling people’s energy bills.”  image: getty images/istockphoto) getty images/istockphoto)  two thirds of adults said their cost of living increased between december and january, an office for national statistics survey found. the ons also said the poorest 10% of households typically have to spend 7% of their income on gas and electricity, showing the disproportionate impact soaring energy bills have on the poor.  bank of england data revealed households took on more debt and put less into savings.  families borrowed an additional £800million worth of consumer credit in december, up from 0.8% in november.  it marked the biggest increase since the start of the ­lockdowns in march 2020.  economist thomas pugh, said: “the figures suggest that consumers are borrowing more and saving less.”  low-income homes unable to cut back  by jack leslie, senior economist at the resolution foundation  families across the uk are experiencing a cost of living crisis, with average prices rising at their fastest rate in 30 years – far faster than wages.  but families do not all experience inflation in the same way, official figures only tell part of the story.  low-income people are always most affected by rises because, if you are only just making ends meet and your costs rise, there is no spending to cut back without affecting your living standards.  the poorest households spend three times as much on gas and electricity bills as the richest and those bills are expected to rise sharply in april.  image: getty images) getty images)  at the same time, there is evidence that the price of ‘value’ products at supermarkets is rising faster than typical supermarket items, and that the availability of these items is becoming scarcer.  jack monroe, the food writer, has started a campaign for statistics to better represent the rising cost of food for the poorest. but we currently don’t have good data on how low-income families are experiencing food price inflation.  regardless, we do know that the decision of turning on the heating or putting food on the table – something that many take for granted – is becoming a source of financial stress.  this should not be happening to anyone in a rich country like britain. the government needs to focus its response on low-income families.  image: walesonline/ rob browne) walesonline/ rob browne)  tumour lad's heat or eat  by jonathon hill  the family of a boy of 15 with a life-threatening brain tumour say they can barely afford to eat and heat their home while caring for him during the cost of living crisis.  noah herniman’s annual mri scan was cancelled last year due to pressures from the pandemic.  months later he was diagnosed with an inoperable benign tumour at the core of his brain.  noah’s mother shelley and his father nigel work but shelley is supporting noah from their home.  the teenager suffers from neurofibromatosis, leading to tumours on nerve tissues.  image: walesonline/ rob browne) walesonline/ rob browne)  even though he is often cold due to his chemotherapy, shelley says the family have to turn off the heating except for a few hours in the morning and evening.  noah also requires 2,900 calories a day, meaning their food bill is “through the roof”, and they receive very little financial support.  shelley, from chepstow, south-east wales, said: “because of the changing tariffs i had a bill for seven weeks which was £165 and instead was £376 for electricity.  “it’s not just that. noah has to go through litres of milk because he has to have a high-fat diet. but costs are going up all the time.  image: shelley herniman) shelley herniman)  “it’s shameful we’re in a country where we consider ourselves a first-world country and some are living like third-world citizens.”  the family are not alone in their struggles. macmillan’s research for 2021 found 87% of people with cancer in wales suffered a financial impact from their diagnosis – an average increase of £734 a month on top of their usual expenditure.  consumer prices stand at more than 5% higher than 12 months ago, while gas bills have leapt 28% and electricity prices are up by 9%.  gem walker works at feed newport cic and says the food bank is serving new families hit by sudden and severe illnesses.  richard pugh, head of partnerships for macmillan cancer support in wales, added: “across the board in wales and the wider uk we see a growing cost of living crisis.  “even in normal times the financial impact of a cancer diagnosis can be devastating.”
families to be left £2,000 a year worse off as cost of living continues to soar