Warning bill rises hit single parents hardest

A series of essential household bills are rising at the start of April, with warnings that single parents are among the hardest hit.

Water bills, energy prices and council tax are all going up on Tuesday , although the minimum wage is also increasing.

The charity Citizens Advice said the finances of millions of people on the lowest incomes were “already stretched to breaking point”.

Many single parents in particular would struggle because a greater proportion of their money was taken up by essential spending, it said.

Those challenges are increasing as a host of price rises kick in. The costs of a TV licence, car tax, and broadband and phone bills are among those going up in cost.

Among the changes: Water bills for households are going up in England and Wales by £10 more per month on average, although it varies considerably by supplier. The annual energy bill for a household in England, Wales and Scotland on a variable tariff and using a typical amount of gas and electricity is going up by £111 a year to £1,849. And Council tax bills in England are generally going up by 4.99%, with bills in Wales rising by about 4.5% to 9.5%, and in Scotland by at least 8%

“After years of cost-of-living pressures, households across the country are about to feel the extra shock of rising essential bills,” said Dame Clare Moriarty, chief executive of Citizens Advice.

The charity said households in the lowest 10% for income were already spending around two fifths (41%) of their earnings – after housing – on water, energy, broadband and car insurance bills. That was a considerably bigger proportion than those on higher incomes.