A THIRD of parents who work, but who earn less than the “real” Living Wage of £8.75 per hour, are forced to regularly skip meals, so that their children can eat, a grim new poll has revealed.
The study by Survation, carried out for the Living Wage Foundation, found 34 per cent of mums and dads regularly go without food for financial reasons.
Worries about money were ruining daily life, according to 71 per cent of respondents, while 55 per cent said a lack of funds was the reason they cancelled social occasions.
Close to half said they had fallen behind on household bills, while 29 per cent said they had fallen behind on their mortgage or rent payments.
More than a third had topped up their monthly income with a credit card or loan and more than half had borrowed money from a friend or relative.
Tess Lanning, director of the Living Wage Foundation, said:“These findings reveal the desperate choices low paid families have to make, and show why it’s so important that more employers take a stand by paying the real Living Wage, based on what they need to live, not just the government minimum.
The National Living Wage currently stands at £7.83 per hour for those aged 25 and over.
A Government spokesperson said: “We increased the National Living Wage on April 1, meaning full time workers will earn £2000 more than when it was introduced in 2016.
“Poverty rates are falling while the employment rate is at a record high. One million fewer people are living in absolute poverty than in 2010, and we continue to offer tailored support to help parents into work so that more families can benefit from the opportunities that work brings.”
Meanwhile, a Citizens Advice survey said as many as 140,000 households are going without power, as they cannot afford to top up their prepayment meters.
“It is unacceptable that so many vulnerable households are being left without heat and light,” explained Gillian Guy, the chief executive of Citizens Advice.
One man told Citizens Advice: “That’s really stressful if you run out of electric. Imagine, if you put yourself in your home and you’ve got no electric and you’ve got no gas so you’ve got no heating.
“You’ve got no entertainment, there’s nothing to do. You’re just sitting there waiting for the next day to come or until you can contact somebody.”
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