National Energy Action (NEA) and The Food Foundation have joined forces with a new survey and joint briefing to warn that energy price rises are harming children’s development this winter.

Our new survey of over 4,000 UK households, conducted by YouGov, reveals that one-quarter (24%) of parents have already cut back on the quantity of food to afford essentials such as their energy bills since the beginning of the year, while 28% say they have cut back on the quality.

More than one in ten parents (13%) have eaten cold meals or ones that don’t require cooking to save money on energy bills.

Even with the energy price cap freeze announced by the government and support including a £400 grant, the average energy bill will have almost doubled since this time last year (the end of September 2021).

Figures from National Energy Action show this means the number of UK households in fuel poverty will have still increased from 4.5 million last October to 6.7 million now.

It also means the average annual energy bill will have increased from £1,271 to around £2,500 in a year. This increase is equivalent to almost one third of the amount a very low-income household with two adults and two children spends on food over one year.

Our survey also shows two thirds of all parents (67%) say they are worried that the increasing energy prices will mean they have less money to buy food for their household. More than half (51%) say they are worried about the coming winter and its impact on their family’s health.

Adam Scorer, chief executive at National Energy Action, says: “People have had to choose between heating and eating. This winter millions will not have even that choice. The most vulnerable, including children, will be cold and hungry as energy prices spiral, despite Government support.

“Energy bills almost doubling in a year is unaffordable for millions and our survey shows people are already cutting back on the quality of what they eat as well as the quantity. The impacts on health and wellbeing are devastating and will only get worse after Saturday’s price rises. It’s a public health emergency.

“More targeted and enduring support, like an energy social tariff, is crucial if the most vulnerable are to get through winter warm and fed.”

Laura Sandys, chair and founder of The Food Foundation says: “For this winter, it may no longer be a question of heating or eating for many households; the cost-of-living crisis and energy bill increases will see children living in homes where there is no longer that choice – they will both go hungry and be cold.

“Government must support low-income families to ensure that children can be warm and well-fed.  The implications of not addressing this double whammy will last longer than the winter, with children’s physical, mental and academic growth stunted, impacting those with the least most.”

Professor Michael Marmot, Professor of Epidemiology at University College London, Director of the UCL Institute of Health Equity, and Past President of the World Medical Association says: “Hungry and cold is not just a miserable way for a child to spend the winter, it is bad for mental and physical health. It is a soluble problem but will take vigorous government action. What could be more important for a rich country than this.”