Think tank The National Institute of Economic and Social Research (NIESR) predicts the cost of living crisis will lead to an estimated 1.5 million households struggling to pay food and energy bills over the next year, as rising prices and higher taxes squeeze budgets.
It forecasts that about a quarter of a million households will slide into extreme poverty, taking the number to about a million. About half a million households would 'face the choice between eating and heating'. In its turn The Bank of England has warned inflation might reach 10% within months.
Christian organisations have reacted with alarm to this news, although many have been warning about the impending crisis for months. Speaking exclusively to Evangelicals Now, Director of the Jubilee Centre Tim Thorlby said 'The cost of living crisis is biting the UK particularly deeply at the moment because so many families were already struggling on low incomes. A rise in inflation is going to push millions of people to foodbanks because they were living right on the edge already, even those in work. It's time to bring an end to poverty - including working poverty - so that this never happens again. And the responsibility for this is shared between Government and employers.'
