Cost of Living Crisis: 1 in 6 skipping meals and going without food in Wales

New data shows that 1 in 6 people in Wales are skipping meals or going without food.

The UK wide poll of 10,000 people commissioned by the TUC reveals how the cost of living emergency is hitting family budgets in every single parliamentary constituency – and that more government action is needed to raise wages and cut bills.

Skipping meals

The poll – carried out by Opinium – shows that 1 in 6 people across Wales are having to skip meals or go without food to make ends meet.

In Alyn and Deeside the data shows 1 in 7 (15%) are having to skip meals or go without food while in Delyn that figure is 1 in 6 (17%).

Rhondda has the highest number of constituents having to skip meals or miss out on food, followed by Blaenau Gwent.

Cutting back on food spending

The survey also reveals that nearly half (48%) Wales residents are having to cut back on food spending.

In Alyn and Deeside the data shows that 43% are having to cut back on food spending while in Delyn that figure is is nearly 50%

This proportion varies again in different parts of the region.

In 11 Welsh constituencies more than half of constituents are cutting back on food spending.

Rising bills

The poll – published in the same week the government reduced long-term support for energy bills – shows households across Britain are still deeply worried about rising bills.

Over half (56%) of Wales’s population are cutting back on heating, hot water or electricity, the figure for Alyn and Deeside is 55%.

Delyn appears to be much higher where 63% are cutting back on heating, hot water or electricity.

Around 6% of those polled in Flintshire report missing payment of a household bill.

Wages and benefits

The TUC says the findings were a “stark reminder” of the cost living pressures facing households throughout the UK.

The union body says the government must:

• Stick to plans to uprate universal credit, benefits and pensions in line with inflation, and bring forward this uprating to before April. This must be the first step on a route to higher levels of universal credit, benefits and pensions.
• Impose a much higher windfall tax on oil and gas companies
• Get pay rising across the economy by backing trade unions and allowing unions to negotiate pay rises across whole sectors
• Give key workers in the public sector cost-of-living proofed pay rises
• Raise the minimum wage to £15 an hour as soon as possible

Today’s poll reveals that nearly 7 in 10 Britons back raising the minimum wage to £15 an hour.

TUC General Secretary Frances O’Grady said:

“No one should have to worry about putting food on the table or heating their homes.

“But millions of families are struggling to cover even the basics, and now face huge uncertainty over their energy bills after the Chancellor said support may end in April.

“This polling lays bare Britain’s cost of living emergency.

“Food and energy bills are soaring, but real wages are plummeting.

“Unless we get pay rising across the economy – and ensure benefits rise in line with inflation – we risk heading towards Victorian levels of poverty.

“The Conservatives should be working with unions to help households get through this crisis. But they want to make it harder for working people to win better pay and conditions.”

On the need to boost wages, Frances added:

“Instead of giving bungs to bankers, ministers need to get money into people’s pockets.

“That’s the best way to boost spending in local economies and to deliver lasting growth.”