“We are having to skip meals”: Families bearing brunt of cost of living crisis as Scots cut back on eating and heating

8 February 2023

One in ten consumers in Scotland are skipping meals, new Which? research suggests, as the consumer champion calls on essential businesses to do more to support people through the cost of living crisis.

The consumer champion carried out extensive research with more than 1,000 people representative of the Scottish population to understand how the cost of living crisis is affecting Scottish consumers.

Which? research found financial pressures are leading consumers in Scotland to make choices that could be harmful to their health. One in ten (11%) are skipping meals due to rising food costs – with parents hit particularly hard by this.

One in five (22%) of more than 250 parents in the Scottish survey are prioritising feeding other family members over eating themselves – compared to 8 per cent of the population overall.

One 55-year-old woman said: “We are having to skip meals, not have the heating on and not going out due to fuel costs”.

Nearly eight in 10 (77%) said they had been putting the heating on less due to energy price rises – compared to just under half (46%) last year. 15 per cent of Scottish consumers had been eating fewer cooked meals to save on energy costs and 2 per cent had used a food bank.

A 42-year-old respondent said: “I’m heating the house to a maximum of 15 Degrees… Eating cold things like sandwiches etc. instead of using the cooker”.

Almost nine in 10 consumers said they were worried about energy prices (89%), while concern around food and housing costs have increased sharply compared to the previous year.

The proportion of people worried about food prices increased by 10 percentage points to almost nine in 10 (87%) in December 2022, compared to eight in 10 (77%) in 2021 and six in 10 (63%) in 2020.

Which?’s research shows how justified these concerns about price rises are. The consumer champion estimates that if consumers in Scotland tried to maintain the same spending habits they would need to spend an additional £40 per week – or around £2,080 a year – on food, energy and fuel in December 2022 compared with December 2021. That would mean almost a third (29%) of their household expenditure would be spent on just these essential goods.

This has led many households to make adjustments to cover essential spending. Nearly six in 10 (56%) consumers in Scotland said their household had made at least one adjustment to cover essential spending in the last month, up from nearly half (48%) in 2021 and nearly four in 10 (37%) in 2020. The most common adjustment was cutting back on essentials – which increased to four in 10 (39%) from a quarter (25%) in 2021.

Which?’s research also found that some household types are being hit harder than others by the cost of living crisis. Nearly three-quarters (72%) of parents in Scotland surveyed had to make adjustments to cover essential spending, compared to just over a third (35%) of pensioners. Only four in 10 (37%) working-age parents surveyed in Scotland say that they are living comfortably or doing alright – compared to half (50%) of Scottish consumers overall.

These financial pressures are causing widespread emotional harm among Scottish consumers. Nearly half (45%) of consumers in Scotland said that concerns around the cost of living have left them feeling anxious and more than a fifth (22%) said they were struggling to sleep due to worries about the cost of living.

A 34-year-old woman said: “I’m severely depressed and worried all the time about being able to pay my bills and have enough money to feed and clothe my kids as well as electricity and gas to heat my home. It’s having a massive effect on my mental health, I feel anxious and stressed out all the time”.

A 54-year-old man said: “I’m having sleepless nights worrying what else is rising in price”.

With the UK heading into recession, mortgages and rent costs rising and the energy price guarantee becoming less generous from April, Scottish consumers will only face further financial pressures in 2023.

Which? recently launched a campaign calling on essential businesses – energy firms, broadband providers and supermarkets – to do more to help consumers struggling to make ends meet. For example, supermarkets must ensure that budget line items are widely available, make pricing and offers more transparent and provide targeted promotions to support people that are struggling most with access to affordable food.

Rocio Concha, Which? Director of Policy and Advocacy, said:

“It’s hugely concerning that people in Scotland are losing sleep, skipping meals and sitting in the cold due to rising prices.

“As the cost of living crisis puts huge pressure on household finances, we are calling on businesses in essential sectors like food, energy and broadband providers to do more to help customers get a good deal and avoid unnecessary or unfair costs and charges during this crisis.”

ENDS

Notes to editors

Which? cost of living campaign

The consumer champion has launched a campaign calling on businesses in essential sectors – supermarkets, telecoms and energy – to do more to help their customers through the cost of living crisis. More information on the campaign is available here.

Research

Yonder, on behalf of Which? conducted a survey of more than 1,000 consumers in Scotland from 25th November – 6th December 2022, with quotas and response weighting used to obtain a nationally representative sample for Scotland according to its known adult age and gender profiles (based on ONS population estimates for 2021).

To estimate the impact of price rises on household spending, Which? analysed the 2019/2020 (pre-pandemic) wave of the ONS’ Living Cost and Food Survey to calculate the proportion spent by households in Scotland on different expenditure categories (e.g. food, fuel and energy). Price indices from the ONS are used to calculate the price increases for specific goods and services. For a full methodology see: https://consumerinsight.which.co.uk/articles/lived-inflation-methodology

Figure 1: Consumers in Scotland are engaging in cost saving behaviours, which in some cases could be harmful to their physical health

Source: Yonder, on behalf of Which?, surveyed 1,034 consumers in Scotland from 25th November-6th December 2022 – data are weighted to be nationally representative of the adult population of Scotland by age and gender (effective base 1,014).

Figure 2: Concerns about price rises continue to grow

Source: Yonder, on behalf of Which?, surveyed at least 1,000 consumers in Scotland in November-December each year – data are weighted to be nationally representative of the adult population of Scotland. Figures for sample subgroups (renters and mortgage holders) are unweighted.

Figure 3: Food, energy and fuels make up an increasing share of household expenditure

Source: Calculated using spending data taken from ONS Living Costs and Food Survey 2019/2020 wave (i.e. pre-pandemic wave) and inflation figures from the ONS. December 2021 and December 2022 are estimated expenditure proportions.

Figure 4: Nearly six in ten consumers in Scotland said their household had made at least one adjustment to cover essential spending in the last month

Figure 5: Nearly a quarter of consumers in Scotland have had trouble sleeping due to thoughts about the rising cost of living

About Which?

Which? is the UK’s consumer champion, here to make life simpler, fairer and safer for everyone. Our research gets to the heart of consumer issues, our advice is impartial, and our rigorous product tests lead to expert recommendations. We’re the independent consumer voice that influences politicians and lawmakers, investigates, holds businesses to account and makes change happen. As an organisation we’re not for profit and all for making consumers more powerful.

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Press Release: Cost of living, Rocio Concha, Scotland