Nearly a quarter of adults in the U.K., 13 million people, do not have enough income to cover their essential bills, Christians Against Poverty (CAP) said in its “The Cost of Christmas” report, released today (Nov. 11).
The Christian charity is very concerned about millions of poor households facing another harsh winter without enough money for food, bills and debt repayments. The pressure is building in the run-up to Christmas, the most expensive time of year.
In his Budget 2026 speech to the U.K. Parliament’s House of Commons on Oct. 28, Chancellor of the Exchequer John Healey acknowledged “people are under pressure” from rising costs, particularly in energy. He promised to “give families and businesses some breathing space” and said the “government is determined to make the economy work better for all families.”
The budget included some “welcome measures,” such as a £100 ($133) payment to most council tax payers, the removal of standing charges on gas bills and a small increase in the national living wage, according to CAP. But the charity said they are not enough to remove anxiety about a predicted minimum 16% increase in energy bills in January.
This follows a 4% rise in Ofgem’s energy price cap in October 2026, which took the average annual bill for a household using gas and electricity to £1,723 ($2,287).
Stewart McCulloch, chief executive officer of the CAP Group, pointed to what was missing from last month’s U.K. budget.
“There were missed opportunities for targeted support for those struggling the most,” McCulloch said.
“An introduction of a national social tariff, the restart of the energy debt relief scheme, and an increase in the Winter Fuel Payment could have provided much-needed relief.”
CAP acknowledged that some measures announced by the chancellor could benefit some people, such as a new Starter Individual Savings Account (ISA) for first-time investors. But the charity pointed out that people need enough income to save in the first place.
According to the report, 6.8 million U.K. adults (12%) are going without gas or electricity at least once a week, 8.3 million (15%) are going without food at least once a week, and 12 million (22%) have debt they are struggling to repay.
Eight million adults feel pressured to spend more than they can afford on extra food for Christmas celebrations, the report found, and 12 million will struggle to afford Christmas. Among parents of children under 18 who celebrate Christmas, 32% say they will struggle to afford it.
The findings are based on an online poll of 2,000 U.K. adults conducted for CAP by Opinium from Sept. 8 to 11.
“Christmas should be a season of safety and peace, but for millions of low-income households across the UK, this winter brings an impossible struggle just to afford the absolute basics,” McCulloch wrote in the report.
“With essential living costs rising to a painfully high level, keeping warm and having food on the table has become a daily crisis,” he wrote.
“This Christmas, may our hearts go out to all of those living in debt and poverty during these challenging times,” he added.
“The heroes in this story are the mums and dads doing everything they can to scrape by and making huge sacrifices to give their children a joyful Christmas and the individuals working hard to make ends meet but being left lonely, anxious, cold and broke.”
