This month families across Kent will see the biggest rise in the cost of energy in living memory as prices are hiked.

But with an estimated one in four households unable to afford the bill increase, reporter Megan Carr looks into how stark the situation is for people entitled to Universal Credit...

With food and fuel prices already spiralling upwards, the rise in energy bills could not come at a worse time.

However, for some, the high price it is now costing to live is nothing short of a crisis.

The standard rate of Universal Credit for a single person aged 25 or over starts at around £324.84 a month.

And when you consider the cost of basics such as food, water, travel, internet, electricity and gas, trying to live on such a small amount seems impossible.

Ethan Dighton, a trustee at Citizens Advice Swale, has expressed concerns about the difficult position that puts people on low incomes in.

He said: “The cost of living crisis is just everywhere across the country.

“Everyone’s feeling the bite not only because of the energy increase, but also because of the petrol and diesel prices and the National Insurance increase.

“So with the standard Universal Credit figure, you’ve got less than £100 a week and petrol prices are looking at nearly £2 per litre in some parts of Kent, groceries are going up.

“It’s just a really difficult position that people are finding themselves in.”

According to the personal finance site Nimblefins, from April, the average UK household is likely to spend £164 per month on gas and electricity, for those paying by direct debit.

The site also states that the average spend on food per person is £40.30 per week.

So along with the average water bill costing £33.46 a month according to Southern Water, a person entitled to Universal Credit could have just £87.08 left for petrol, or travel and perhaps broadband.

This is without the addition of housing benefits and council tax.

And according to the RAC, filling a 55-litre car now costs about £81.41 for petrol and £84 for diesel. So in reality those on Universal Credit would probably be left with less than a fiver.

Ethan explained the price of wheat has also gone up astronomically, so people can expect things like pasta and bread to rocket in price - the staples that people and food banks rely on.

He said: “The other thing that we’re seeing is where food prices are going up, the food banks that may have had a reasonable supply and could help people are now also struggling.

“So where the food prices are going up people that would ordinarily be donating to food banks can no longer can afford the food themselves so food banks are seeing their supply go down.

“The people that use food banks are seeing themselves squeezed at two ends, they can’t afford food themselves and the food banks don’t have enough food to give them.”

Food banks usually see a drop in donations in the weeks straight after Christmas, but they usually start to increase again in the spring. This year they have not.

Esther Hurwood, project manager at Sittingbourne and Sheppey Foodbank, said: “This year, donations have definitely dropped more than normal and we are not seeing them pick back up at all just yet.

“We already know that many people who normally donate to us are actually the ones needing our support at the moment, so donations have definitely dropped.

“We are bracing ourselves for a very busy time as these fuel increases hit along with all of the other increases in costs of living for all of us - including us as individuals and as an organisation.”

Ethan said: “Citizens Advice has just released a report that states there’ll be five million people across across the country that won’t be able to pay their energy bills this April.

“And when that energy price cap goes up again in October, that figure of people that won’t be able to pay their energy bills is 14.5 million people, so it’s a really stark position that we’re looking at.

“If people are struggling, firstly, they can come to us and we can talk about their situation and see what we can do to help.

“But there’s not an easy answer to it, I’m afraid. It’s just a really difficult position that people are finding themselves in.

“And that’s why we’re trying to say something needs to be done. The energy prices can’t keep going up, the fuel prices can’t keep going up, the food prices can’t keep going up without some sort of help for people, because people just can’t afford it.

“We’re in a situation where we’re something like the fifth biggest economy in the world, but a quarter of our households can’t afford their energy bills is just insane.”

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