EconomyEuropeHuman Rights

UK families cut food to pay for homes

c71d2fd093c66f1063da6b306b870de2_LA new research shows over five million families with children across Britain have been forced to cut back on food last year in order to meet their rent or mortgage costs.

A poll of 4,000 adults by YouGov for Shelter, the housing and homeless charity, found that four out of ten British households with children (42 percent) had scaled back on their food shopping in 2012 to pay for housing costs, equating to 5.5 million families if the figures were projected nationally.
The charity’s survey, which was released on Tuesday, also revealed that more than one in four (27 percent) families in the UK had reduced their use of gas and electricity in a bid to stay in their homes.
Campbell Robb, Shelter’s chief executive said “These startling figures show the daily heartache millions of parents are going through as they face the choice between putting food on the table and paying for the roof over their head.”
The charity said it is bracing itself for an increase in demand for help when the coalition government’s further benefit cuts come into effect this April.
Earlier this month, a study suggested that nearly five million people across Britain are struggling to afford nutritious meals.

Back to top button