Almost half UK adults finding it difficult to afford energy bills, reveals ONS data
October 2022 - Utilities
The ONS used data from the Opinions and Lifestyle survey, which also found that the number of people reporting that they were finding it more difficult to afford housing payments (either rent or mortgages) was up since June, from 26% to 30% For people living with a disability the figures were even higher with 36% of those paying housing payments, finding it difficult.
When it comes to being behind with energy bills, the survey found that 7% of the disabled adults surveyed said they were behind on energy bills. This compares to 4% of non-disabled people. It was a similar story when it came to paying rents or mortgages with 4% of disabled people falling behind, compared to 2% of non-disabled people.
The research found that lower earners are finding it the hardest, with around half of those who earn less than 20K per year saying they were finding it hard to pay their energy bills. For those with a personal income of 50k or less, 23% said they were finding it difficult to afford energy bills.
Looking at those using prepayment meters, almost three quarters said they were facing difficulty affording bills (72%) compared with around two-fifths (42%) of people who pay by direct debit or one-off payments.
The survey also found that people who rent their homes (60%) were finding paying energy bills harder than homeowners (43%). Renters were also finding it more difficult to afford housing costs that those with a mortgage (39% versus 23%).
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