The ONS Public opinions and social trends, Great Britain: household finances study found that 8% have had a direct debit, bill or standing order they’ve been unable to pay in the past month.

More than one in 20 people are behind on their energy bills. This figure rises to about one in 10 of those aged 16 to 49, and women.

The ONS found that almost half of households (46%) find it very or somewhat difficult to pay their energy bills – rising to more than half of those aged 16 to 49.

Sarah Coles, senior personal finance analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, said: “It’s crunch time for the cost-of-living crisis. After a year of shopping around and cutting back, there’s no fat left to trim from our spending, so we’re running into a brick wall financially. Many of those who can still borrow are going further into the red, while others have started missing bills.

“Almost one in 10 (8%) people have had a direct debit, bill or standing order they’ve been unable to pay in the past month, which rises to one in ten (10%) of those aged 16 to 29, and an alarming 13% of those aged 30 to 49. 

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“People in their 30s and 40s often have their finances stretched to the maximum even in the best of times, as often they’re juggling all the demands of young families and buying a property.

“Almost half of us are finding it very or somewhat difficult to pay energy bills (46%) – rising to more than half of those aged 16 to 49 (54% among those aged 16 to 29 and 52% among 30 to 49-year-olds). Increasingly this is tipping over into an inability to pay – which has risen to 6% overall – the highest it has been since mid-July last year.”

The ONS figures show that rising prices have hit younger people harder, with one in ten (10%) of those aged 16 to 29 behind on energy bills. This is no surprise, as younger people tend to be on lower incomes, and spend a higher proportion of their income on the basics. 

Hargreaves Lansdown’s Savings & Resilience Barometer found that the inflation rate for the essentials is running at twice the pace of non-essentials, so these price rises are a major blow for younger people.

Women are also struggling with these costs, with 8% admitting to being behind on energy bills – the highest number since the ONS started asking the question in March last year. 

Women are paying for the fact they tend to be on lower incomes than men on average.

“Those who still have the ability to borrow more are often opting for this approach rather than falling behind on bills, so the number of people who are borrowing more than they did a year earlier is also trending up,” said Coles, “In the two months to 8 January, the number of people who have borrowed more in the previous year averaged 22%. This is the highest the rolling average has been since the ONS started measuring it in November 2021. And while borrowing feels like a solution in the short-term, once you run out of capacity, you’ll face all the same challenges – plus a mountain of debt hanging over you too.”