Cost of living: 'Each week, we are fighting to survive'

A mates accidental they are "fighting to survive" owed to the expanding outgo of energy.

Stacey McDonnell and Darren Setford unrecorded successful Leicester and are full-time carers for household members.

They accidental that by the clip they person paid their £700 a period rent, determination is not a batch to spare.

The Clockwise Credit Union, which provides enactment to radical struggling to negociate their finances, has advised struggling families to inquire for help.

The mates unrecorded with their 2 daughters. Mr Setford gave up his occupation arsenic a cook to attraction for his member and Ms McDonnell is besides a full-time carer.

They get £69 a week each successful carers' allowance, £500 each period successful lodging benefit, positive kid payment and kid taxation credits arsenic portion of their monthly Universal Credit payment.

They said that successful the past mates of months, state and electrical bills person gone up from conscionable nether £60 a period to astir £100.

Ms McDonnell said: "I look each time connected my astute metre and adjacent erstwhile I've conscionable got the room airy on, I tin spot evidently spot it connected the meter, and you tin spot it dilatory depleting."

Mr Setford said: "We're having to chopped down a lot, particularly connected our state and electric, to marque definite we tin spend nutrient due to the fact that nutrient has gone up arsenic well.

"It's hitting each aspects of the pouch astatine the moment.

"We're decidedly going to consciousness the pinch astatine Christmas and it's hard to effort to explicate that to the children - and we're astir apt not the lone ones successful that situation.

"And it helps, it does help. But it's inactive not enough.

"Each week we are warring to past really. Definitely week by week. Sometimes time by day."

Emma Franklin-Keogh, from the Clockwise Credit Union successful Leicester, said: "People are genuinely disquieted retired determination and looking for that benignant of enactment - whether it beryllium with their finances, wherever they tin get nutrient from.

"It is simply a precise regular occurrence that radical are asking for immoderate assistance now."

She advised struggling households to cheque what assistance their vigor providers mightiness offer.

"There are tons of trusts retired determination - peculiarly from the large vigor providers - for other assistance with your bills," she said.

"If you request help, marque definite you're getting retired determination and getting the assistance you need. Just rise your dependable and talk to someone."

Around £270m has been handed retired this twelvemonth successful assembly taxation rebates crossed the East Midlands.

A further £8m, allocated to councils to beryllium handed retired arsenic "discretionary payments" to those successful need, is to beryllium paid retired by the extremity of November.

About £5m of this has not been spent, with immoderate councils saying it has been a situation to way down radical who are eligible.

Sarah Russell, lawman politician astatine Leicester City Council - wherever 96% of the allocation has been paid out, said: "We're hoping the payments volition spell a tiny mode towards helping. We're looking astatine a fig of different things that we tin do.

"But, arsenic ever this winter, much assistance truly is needed by the authorities for those that are struggling to marque ends meet."