MILLIONS of Britons are cold, hungry and struggling to get medical care this winter amid the cost-of living-crisis.
Almost a quarter of adults have not been able to ‘keep comfortably warm’ in the two weeks before they were surveyed, reports the Office of National Statistics (ONS).
As many fear running out of money to buy food, around one-in-five adults reported eating smaller portions and food past its use by date.
The information was compiled by the ONS new Winter Survey, which questioned people on the impact of pressures on adults in Britain during the colder months from November 22 to December 18 2022.
The analysis exploring how different groups of people are being affected by cost-of-living increases and difficulty accessing NHS services found people struggling with access to the essentials of everyday living were also more likely to report that they were suffering from depression.
Almost a quarter of adults (24%) reported they are ‘occasionally, hardly ever, or never’ able to keep comfortably warm in the past two weeks.
This jumped to 41% of people who pay their energy bills using prepayment or ‘top-up’ meters.
Among respondents experiencing moderate to severe depression, the number of those who reported being unable to keep warm was 44%.
Around one-in-seven (15%) adults reported being ‘somewhat, or very, worried’ their food would run out before they had money to buy more – a quarter of parents with children living at home were likely to report this.
More than two-thirds (70%) of those who ran out of food in the two weeks before being surveyed and said they couldn’t afford to buy more, also reported being occasionally, hardly ever, or never able to keep comfortably warm.
Around one-in-five adults said they were eating smaller portions (18%) and ate food past its use by date (18%).
This was higher for parents with dependent children where 20% said they were eating smaller portions and 22% said they were eating food past its use by date.
