North Yorkshire families "nervous" ahead of budget announcement
Jeremy Hunt will deliver his statement later today
North Yorkshire families say they are waiting with bated breath for what is to come in the Chancellor's statement. Jeremy Hunt has already warned us that everyone will have to pay a little more tax.
Sarah Kaye is from Easingwold and has two young children. She says she doesn't know where they would be able to find any extra cash: "We'll have to tighten our belts yet again and I'm not really sure how we are going to do that because we are already living as tight as we can. I guess it's the maybe once a month taking the kids out for lunch and that'll have to go but it's so sad.'"
The Prime Minister has said Jeremy Hunt will unveil measures today, to "put our public finances on a sustainable trajectory".
The statement is expected to include painful public spending cuts and tax hikes, to plug a black hole in the nation's finances.
Mr Hunt earlier said "sacrifices" were required across the board to get the economy back on track.
How the cost of living is impacting everyone:
Interest rates and inflation go up
Inflation rose by 8.8% in the 12 months to January 2023, down from 9.2% in December 2022. With interest rates also rising to 4%, those saving money will earn more interest on their finances, whilst those paying mortgages would pay more interest to the bank.
Energy bills
The price of energy went up incredibly as the cost of living crisis hit, with the gas price spike caused largely by the war in Ukraine. The price cap - which is set by an independent regulator to help offset costs onto customers - was set to rise to £3,549 for an average home in October but a price freeze from the government restricted the typical bill to £2,500. That's still an increase of 27% from the previous energy cap and as it's a cap on unit cost, the more energy you use the higher your bill will be.
Food prices
The cost of a weekly shop also has gone up as a result of the cost of living crisis. As a result of the war in Ukraine, a number of products including cooking oils and wheat have been disrupted. This means that several products are now considerably more expensive, driving bills up for customers.
Prices at the pumps
The average cost of petrol has also rose to unprecedented levels. Supply lines for petrol have been thrown into doubt as a result of the war in Ukraine, as Russia is a large export partner for gas, oil and fuel. In April 2022, the average price for a litre of petrol on the forecourt was 160.2p, whilst a litre of diesel would cost 170.5p. By late June 2022 the price had risen to an average of 190.9p for a litre of unleaded and 198.9p for a litre of diesel. In March 2023 the price wass on average of 147.03 in petrol and 167.04 in diesel.
Average cost of filling up a car with petrol hits £100
On 9th June 2022, the average cost of filling up a car with petrol hit £100 for the first time ever. Diesel had already hit that milestone. It comes as the cost of fuel hit a record high of one pound eighty a litre. The 2p rise was the biggest daily jump in 17 years. Prices have dropped by at least 20p per litre since the high point.