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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Politics
Lizzy Buchan

Families hit by £150 hike to clothing bills this year as cost of living crisis bites

Families face a £150 hike to their clothing bills over the year as the cost of living crisis deepens, new analysis shows.

The price of clothes and shoes rose by 6.3% between January 2021 and 2022, outstripping the general rise in consumer prices, according to the Office for National Statistics.

If this rise was maintained over the year, a family with two children faces paying £148 more on clothing over the year, Labour analysis has found.

Researchers at Loughborough University have estimated a couple with two kids would spend around £2,400 a year on clothing.

Brits are facing rocketing energy bills, an increase to national insurance contributions and rising prices in the coming months.

Brits are facing a rising cost of living crisis (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

Pat McFadden, Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury, said: “The cost-of-living crisis is hitting people hard.

"Whether it's filling up their cars so they can get to work, doing the weekly food shop, or when they get their energy bills, everyone's noticing it. And now the cost of clothes and shoes are on the rise too.

"The Tories are failing to get a grip of this crisis, leaving working people paying the price. And to add insult to injury, they're about to hike taxes on jobs and businesses."

Boris Johnson is pressing ahead with his manifesto-busting tax hike from April - despite opposition from his own MPs.

Employees, employers and the self-employed will pay 1.25p more in the pound for National Insurance from April 2022 for a year, before it switches to a new Health and Social Care Levy.

Millions of households face a £693 increase to their annual energy bill from April after regulator Ofgem confirmed the energy price cap will increase to a record £1,971 for a typical household.

Chancellor Rishi Sunak announced plans to give people living in bands A to D getting a £150 discount on their council tax in England, and a £200 "rebate" off energy bills in October.

But the Treasury said the discount will be paid back from household bills in £40 instalments from 2023, when global gas prices are expected to fall.

Chancellor Rishi Sunak (Getty Images)

Inflation climbed to 5.5% in the 12 months to the end of January, meaning families face paying more for various goods.

A Treasury spokesperson said: "We recognise the pressures people are facing with the cost of living and are providing support worth around £20 billion this financial year and next to help.

“This includes the £500 million Household Support Fund to help vulnerable households with essentials – including clothing – over the winter, help with rising energy bills worth £350 for millions of households, cutting the Universal Credit taper to help low income families keep more of what they earn, and freezing alcohol and fuel duties to keep costs down.

“We’re also raising the National Living Wage to £9.50 per hour from April, meaning people working full time on the National Living Wage will see a £1,000 increase in their annual earnings."

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