'Unprecedented times': Experts tackle questions from County Durham on cost of living worries

Over the past three weeks, along with my producer Flossie Mainwaring-Taylor, we’ve spent hours on Watt Street in Murton.

We’ve spoken, sometimes briefly, sometimes at length to many of the people who live there. And the picture that emerges is one of households who are just surviving.

Families getting by week-to-week but worried that one small change could push them over the edge of an economic cliff.And the problem is, the changes that are happening right now aren’t small. Last week’s increase in energy bills is already hitting people. One family I spoke to was having to find an extra £200 a month to cover their Direct Debit.But of course, it is not just household energy costs. The energy crisis is feeding into food and fuel prices too.

Whether it’s Stuart, who is considering leaving his homecare job because of the cost of diesel or Susan, a savvy shopper who budgets just £20 a week for food, everyone is feeling the pinch.One woman told me how her husband works two jobs, from dawn until 11pm, six days a week. Yet, when she visits the supermarket, she worries whether she’ll be able to afford enough food for her growing family.

And, right now, Watt Street is every street. These are problems that are facing everyone. But those who are suffering the most - and will suffer more as prices are expected to rise further over the coming months - are those with the least.

As this crisis unfolds, we’ll return to Watt Street to see how people there are coping as the impact of the changes, to bills, to tax, to food and fuel prices, over the last few weeks really starts to bite.

To round off this week’s coverage we brought Susan, Stuart and Paul together with two leading experts. Professor Greta Defeyter is the Director of the ‘Healthy Living’ Lab at Northumbria University, sits on the North East Child Poverty Commission and is a trustee of Feeding Britain. Peter Sumby is from the Newcastle-based energy poverty charity National Energy Action.

• Susan: "I work for a charity. So we have people come through the door who have no means of support whatsoever. Is anywhere they can apply to get some money for help?"

Greta: "Yes. So lots of people don't realise that actually you can approach your local authority or council. It actually covers help with and support with housing, debt, clothing, water, energy and fuel bills."Peter: "And just picking up from what Greta said, the type of householders that you're talking about, there are going to be so many householders in those circumstances. People are feeling in very desperate circumstances.

"The important message to get across is that people should really look to maximise their incomes as much as possible. Make sure you're claiming all the benefits that you're entitled to. And there are agencies that will help people to do that."

• Stuart: "How would you recommend on today's times with energy prices going up, what would be the best way to save on energy bills? 

Peter: "It's never been harder to answer that question because we're heading into unprecedented times, really, as far as costs of energy are concerned.

"There are things you can do to manage your energy. You can look to make sure that your home is as energy efficient as possible. So that means simple steps, like making sure your your property is draft proof properly."There are steps that you can take to try and use less energy. So, for example, make sure that you use your your timers, you know, have the heating come on an hour before you wake up and going off, you know, an hour before you go to bed, maybe turning the thermostat down by a degree.

"But I'm not going to lie. It's not going to touch the sides of the price increases that we are heading for. It might take just some of the edges off."

• Paul: "I've got energy debts, one from the previous energy supplier and the current one I'm with. Is there a way of getting the right side out so that I can get it cleared off quicker?"

Peter: "There is and you can agree, payment plans with your energy supplier and they've got to be payment plans that are appropriate to you as well. Again, you shouldn't agree to a payment plan that isn't appropriate to you.

"And I would think I would be advising you to talk to a specialist money advice agency to look about, because obviously, if there are debts across several areas, not just energy, then you need to think about how they all kind of fit together and what the most appropriate payment plan back is for you.

"You're not alone. I think there's going to be a lot of householders are going to be experiencing that, unfortunately, going forward."

• Susan: "I'm a very savvy shopper. I save everything I can but I'm just wondering if there's any more I can do to save money."

Greta: "So there are a few tips out there. I'm a savvy shopper as well because I hate food waste. So one of the things I always recommend to people is plan in advance. So, you know, go back to old school of planning your menus very carefully of what you're going to eat to reduce your food wastage, to make sure that you're shopping in a savvy way.

"And don't be ashamed of using more of what is considered the cheapest store, the budget supermarkets. We need to change how we engage with shopping to try and eat as healthfully as we can on our budgets that we have in our households."

• Paul: "Things are really bad but it's going to get even worse isn't it?"

Susan: "And you know what used to be our social welfare net that people, you know, to stop people falling below - we now have people that are falling way below that net and are using food banks and social supermarkets, not just as a top up but as their everyday shop.

"We have households that are working poor. They are working, yet they're deemed to be in poverty."Peter: "We talk about fuel poverty. Fuel poverty is a situation that simply means that people on lower incomes can't afford to stay warm in their homes. If we'd been in this room, if we'd been allowed to be in this room a year ago. we'd have been talking about 4 million householders in the UK that were in that circumstance.

"Today we're talking about six and a half million householders. You know, we're still in a pandemic, but hopefully we're through the worst of it, that it feels like we're heading into a pandemic of fuel poverty."

Where to get help:

• If you need support, call Citizens Advice on 0808 223 1133 or visit their website.

• Another charity called Turn 2 Us also offers support and can help you find any benefits or grants you may qualify for if you need a bit of support with your bills.

• If you are struggling to make payments, then contact the company you are making payments to or your council.