UK low-income families hit by rising living costs struggle to make ends meet

Low-income families need a third more disposable income than a decade ago to cover childcare, transport, and energy costs, the Joseph Rowntree Foundation reveals in a report.

According to the Centre of Research in Social Policy, a single person needs £18,400 a year to reach the Minimum Income Standard while each parent in a couple with two children needs to earn £20,000 and a lone parent with a pre-school child has to earn £28,450.

The costs of living have risen and have taken their toll on households' disposable incomes. The prices have risen dramatically in a decade and have caused families to struggle to make ends meet.

Public transport prices have increased and take up nearly a fifth of minimum household budgets. Bus travel is 65% more expensive in 2018 than in 2008.

Childcare costs have also risen with the average price of a full-time nursery pace for a toddler costing £229 a week, up well over 50% since 2008.

Inside the household, the minimum food budget for a single person rose over 50% from £29 to £44 and the energy bills are over a 40% higher than a decade ago.

At the moment, parents of two working full-time on the minimum wage have a 11% shortage in their disposable income. A lone parent working full-time falls 20% short, up from 16.5% in 2008, and a single breadwinner family falls 27% short with its disposable income.

The report found that government benefits cuts are affecting low-income households in the UK and are making it difficult for them to make ends meet. The foundation has also called for the government to review their policies.

The JRF are calling on the government to allow families to keep more of their earnings by increasing the Work Allowance under Universal Credit.

This could help up to 3m families reach a decent standard of living.

Campbell Robb, the chief executive of the JRF said: "These figures show just how precarious life can be for low-income households."

"Some working parents are actually further away from reaching a decent living standard because tax credits to top up low wages have been falling at a time when families need them most."