Calls are mounting for Chancellor Rishi Sunak to take urgent action on the cost of living crisis as official figures showed inflation soaring to a 40-year high of 9% in the year to April, up from an already high 7% in March.
Charities, think tanks and opposition politicians said the UK Government needs to do more for the poorest households, who are being hit the worst during the crisis.
Households are struggling under the weight of prices that are increasing faster than at any point in more than a generation, data released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed on Wednesday.
It was the fastest measured rate since records began in 1989, and the ONS estimates it was the highest since 1982.
A large portion of the rise was due to the price cap on energy bills, which was hiked by 54% for the average household at the start of April.
Grant Fitzner, chief economist at the ONS, said: “Inflation rose steeply in April, driven by the sharp climb in electricity and gas prices as the higher price cap came into effect.
“Around three-quarters of the increase in the annual rate this month came from utility bills.”
Millions of households have already received £150 Council Tax rebates and £200 is set to be deducted from every electricity bill in October, however, campaigners say this will not be enough for many people.
Imran Hussain, director of policy and campaigns at Action for Children, said: “These grim figures make clear that more and more families are starting to run out of road as they face inflation at its highest level in a generation, spiralling energy bills set to rise further, and an entirely inadequate benefits system.
“Government action is needed now to support incomes and cushion vulnerable families through this crisis. This means increasing benefits in line with the actual cost of living, and targeting help to children in low-income families through a rise in the child element of Universal Credit.”
Mr Sunak said inflation is hitting countries around the world, and pointed to energy prices as a main culprit.
He said: “We cannot protect people completely from these global challenges but are providing significant support where we can, and stand ready to take further action.”
Ahead of the ONS figures being released, surveys showed people were switching to cheaper alternatives and trying to control how much energy they use.
The Joseph Rowntree Foundation said parents are skipping meals to ensure their children can eat and others are cutting back on showers to save water.
Rebecca McDonald, the foundation’s senior economist, said: “Inflation has hit a 40-year high. Yet last month, with prices already climbing, the Chancellor chose not to uprate benefits in line with inflation, leaving the basic rate of benefits at its lowest for 35 years.”
Last week, Rishi Sunak said he was not able to raise benefits more than 3.1% due to an old computer system that the Department for Work and Pensions uses.
The Institute for Fiscal Studies economic think tank suggested the poorest households might be facing inflation of 10.9%.
This is higher than average because they spend a larger portion of their money on heating and lighting their homes.
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