A third of people on Universal Credit have not been able to afford to heat their homes for more than four days over the last month, according to a charity. Four in 10 adults receiving the benefit have fallen into debt this winter because the payment is not keeping pace with the soaring cost of living, the Trussell Trust said.
Some people are turning off their fridges to save money, others are experiencing mould because they cannot afford to put the heating on, and some cannot afford to get to work or take their children to school, it said. The charity, which runs a network of food banks, commissioned a YouGov survey of 1,506 UK adults claiming Universal Credit between January 24 and February 15.
It found that one in six respondents (17%) needed to visit a food bank at least once since the start of December. One in three (33%) people had more than one day in the last month where they did not eat at all or had only one meal.
