A retired pharmacist who has to keep the heating on at all times for her sick husband says she is struggling to pay for basic items due to soaring energy costs.
Ann Smith told MyLondon that her husband Richard - who is recovering from a brain tumour and has dementia - needs the house to be warm at all times due to his fluctuating body temperature. As a result, Ann has to keep the central heating on "even on a pleasant day" and is facing vast energy costs.
Ann said she is struggling to keep up with a 54% increase in her energy bill from April and has already noticed price increases in food and other essentials. The situation has forced her to make small savings elsewhere, such as not buying her grandchildren a birthday cake, reducing trips out, and considering cancelling the broadband and switching to Freeview TV.
Ann, 70, relies on her pension and is concerned about how she will pay the extra costs. She can't receive the full amount of both her carer's allowance and her state pension because they are seen as "overlapping benefits", she said.
Ann explained: "I never class my pension as a benefit as during my working life I contributed to it. I think we have done the right thing. We both went to work. We bought our house and brought up our kids. I live in a nice area and have a nice house but that’s all I have got. We may have assets but we are cash poor."
She said it would be impossible to sell the house as it would be bad for her husband's dementia. "You think in your retirement everything is rosy," she said. "I have worked hard all my life and now I have got to decide whether to buy a coat or put it towards food."
Ann has also felt the effect of subtle increases in the price of basic foodstuffs - the loaf of bread she usually buys has increased from £1.15 to £1.50, causing her to question whether she'll have to move to unhealthier "cheap white bread".
Ann added that it was sometimes difficult to get her husband on the bus, so they have to take a taxi, which amounts to yet another expense. To avoid this additional cost, Ann said that they often stick to their own neighbourhood and don't go out.
Ann explained that she is not alone in feeling the pinch. "It's not that I’m wishing this on anyone else but all my friends have similar concerns," she said.
Carers UK’s latest survey of more than 3,000 unpaid carers shows that 45 per cent already can’t manage their monthly expenses and 58 per cent are worried they will have to use a food bank in the coming months.
Energy experts anticipate that the average household could pay about £700 more per year for electricity and gas as the price cap is raised in England, Wales and Scotland.
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