Suffolk families left facing difficult decisions over #BigSqueeze on finances
Families across Suffolk are facing a huge rise in their energy bills from today
Last updated 11th Apr 2022
Families across Suffolk are facing difficult decisions as they experience a huge increase in the cost of living.
The energy price cap has lifted, which means a typical fuel bill will rise by around £700 this year, with a chance prices could increase again in October.
For most people, the energy you use this morning will cost 54 per cent more than it did yesterday.
These increasing prices, combined with rising food and petrol costs, and low, or no, pay increases will see a squeeze on incomes, and many families are likely to experience difficult financial times.
Nine in ten people in the East say they've seen the cost of a weekly shop go up.
We spoke to Major Alan Hill, who is the leader of Woodbridge church and manages the Salvation Army in Woodbridge, he has already noticed and increase in people needing help: "The food banks, whether it's this one in Woodbridge or whether it's another that depend upon food banks, it's going to grow, for all of us.
"As I look around and I listened to the news that is the picture that I see all the time and that's not talking about gas and electric. That's just talking about general living conditions.
"This week I've already picked up 3 new people wishing to have her food parcels because their circumstances.
"I think so far this year we've done 4000. I think it's about 4600 food parcels since the beginning of March and that's since the beginning of April.
"Sometimes we lived close to the breadline anyway.
"I had to revalue what we were paying out to cover the extra cost and what it's going to be.
"I think we have to revalue everything that we do and lots of people live on the breadline, there's people that can't afford children."
"I still think we're gonna struggle, for in-between three and five years.
"And that's for all of us, not just for for those those lucky enough to be employed or in work, but also for those really on the breadline."
"I really don't know how lots of people are going to cope, and I don't know how they (the rising costs) can be fixed at this moment in time."
" I went out and delivered a food parcel to a person, young mother and her 5 year old boy.
"When I delivered the food parcel, the little boy looks up at his mother and says,
"'Does this mean we can eat now?'
"And I went. Yeah, now you can."
Fuel
Not only is Alan trying to help others that have been affected, but he is also having to make changes: "We can look at all the bits that helps everything that's happened.
"The government finances are not in the best place at this moment in time.
"My finances are not in the best place, everyone's finances are struggling. You know the cost of fuel is horrendous.
"Since I live in Beccles but travelling down to Woodbridge for 34 miles means that my daily costs goes up.
" I've cancelled certain standing orders."
"I've cancelled some of my sky contracts to reduce that bill."
"So I'd be introducing bills, and I saved somewhere in the region about £100 a month after my expenses that I'm going to pay into my heating and fuel build up amount up to cover the costs.
"The next couple of months will be the big challenge to see how it's going to work out. And how it's going to pan out."
"The sad part is, we all we have to make sacrifices.
"And that comes to us all.
The government has to make sacrifices. They got to pay back the billions.
"I am glad I haven't got their bill. But the billions that they borrowed, they've got to pay it back.
" I'm just glad it's not mine.
"I've just got to make some changes."
We asked Alan, how he felt about the cost of fuel being decreased by 5 pence: "For me 5 pence is better than nothing.
"The five pence, if I were to drop a Pebble in the sea and wait for the ripples to hit the shore, is going to take an awful long time.
"I drive past lots of garages and lots of them never took 5 pence off. So when you look at it, what is 5 pence?
"A duction in VAT on both fuels would have been better. And I realize that government can't afford that, but that would have been a better ploy.
"5 pence is a drop in the ocean."
Help and support
The government have announced some support to help those affected by the big squeeze.
If you pay council tax on a house in Bands A to D, you'll get a £150 refund to part-cover the rising costs,
There'll also be a £200 pound deduction on your energy bill this year - crucially, though, you'll have to that pay back over the following five years.
Citizen's Advice tells us they're seeing more people get in touch with them now than at any point during the pandemic.
It says over 50,000 people have already asked for crisis support this year.
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You can contact Citizen's Advice through their website.
There are also services linked to mental health and financial worries through the Money and Mental Health Policy Institute.
Why does everything cost so much?
The government say global supply chains, and the uncertainty cause by war in Ukraine is responsible for the cost of living increase.
Inflation is the measure by which we record how much prices are rising across the UK.
At the moment, it's just over 6%, so something that cost £1 last year will now cost £1.06.
It's thought it could hit close to 9% later this year.
Energy prices
The cost of energy is skyrocketing because of increased demand since economies opened up after months or years of coronavirus restrictions.
Most of our homes are gas-powered through central heating, and a large part of our electricity comes from gas too.
The price cap, which was designed to stop companies charging too much, is now setting the minimum amount you can pay, after looking at national and global supply factors.
Earlier this year, Ofgem decided 54% was a fair increase for energy companies to charge, pushing bills up to around £2000 per household.
It's thought it could go up to closer to £2500 a year if prices on the wholesale market continue to rise.
Petrol and diesel
Demand for petrol and diesel has done the same to prices at the pumps, which saw record amounts charged at filling stations throughout March.
Unleaded now regularly costs more than £1.60 a litre, and its more than £1.70 for diesel.
Wholesale prices are rising, as people return to workplaces after months or years of working from home, and demand for items in shops and online means fuel is in massive demand.
That means higher prices too.
Grocery shopping
The route items take to get to our supermarket shelves has also been disrupted by coronavirus, and new rules and red tape introduced because of Brexit.
That's pushed up prices too.
At the moment, prices are increasing by more than 5% on last year, which could hit as high as 8% later this month.
National insurance
The government announced last year they were pushing up the National Insurance rate to pay for social care.
For most people it comes directly out of your wages, just like tax.
A 1.25 percentage-point rise introduced by Chancellor Rishi Sunak will mean someone earning £20,000 per year will take home £89 less compared to last year, but a change to thresholds announced in the Spring Statement now means a typical employee will take home an extra £330.
Pay rises that don't match inflation
At any other time, we'd be celebrating the highest pay rises in a decade, with some staff seeing a 3% rise in their salaries this year.
But given inflation is currently higher than 5%, it actually means you're actually worse off, as your new pay amount won't match the increase in the things we want or need to buy.