Almost half of adults in the UK who are responsible for paying their energy bills said they are struggling to afford them, according to new government figures.
Data from the Office for National Statistics revealed that 48 per cent of adults said they found it "very or somewhat difficult" to afford the cost of their energy bills in a survey between August 31 and September 11. This is a slight increase from the same survey that took place a fortnight earlier, where 45 per cent said they were struggling.
Despite this, Lizz Truss' government has pledged to provide households with support in the face of soaring energy costs since the survey period started. According to the government, energy bills will be capped at £2,500 from October alongside a £400 rebate which will be delivered in six monthly instalments.
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The cap freeze was implemented after Ofgem revealed its original plans to increase energy bills by 80 per cent across the country. This was piled on top of the 54 per cent surge that households saw after April this year.
ONS data also revealed that 82 per cent of adults reported "being very or somewhat worried about rising costs of living" in the past two weeks, a slight increase from 81 per cent a fortnight earlier. However, it demonstrates a sharp increase from May when 74 per cent of households were first asked the same question.
Meanwhile, around a quarter of adults (26 per cent) said they are unable to save as much money as usual when asked about the current condition of their household finances.
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