A charity, the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, reports that 7.4 million UK households cannot afford essentialessential/ɪˈsenʃəl/L2必不可少的，必需的something that is necessary or very important items, including food, heating, and clothes. The surveysurvey/ˈsɜːveɪ/L2调查；勘测a study or report that collects information from many people shows that 62% of low-income families face this problem, and almost half of them skip meals to save money. Elaine Yates is a 77-year-old widowwidow/ˈwɪdəʊ/L2寡妇a woman whose husband has died and who has not married again who lives alone in a village. 'I can't remember the last time I put the oven on,' she says, because she cannot afford the high energy bills. She worries a lot about the cost of living.
Zoe Hayden is a single mother and a plumbing apprenticeapprentice/əˈprentɪs/L2学徒a person who works for someone to learn a skill or trade in North Oxford. She says the cost of basic food has increased by a lot, and sometimes she spends £45 on just a few items. The new Prime Minister, Andy Burnham, wants to help struggling families. He is going to cut the tax on electricity bills starting in October. This will save each household about £45 a year.
However, some charities like Age UK want the government to do more. They ask for extra help with energy bills and for cheap activities for children. A government spokesperson says the UK is working hard to reduce povertypoverty/ˈpɒvəti/L2贫困，贫穷the state of being very poor. This effort includes increasing the minimum wage and improving benefits for low-income families. The charity Christians Against Poverty found that 35% of adults worry about money every day, but the government has already helped by reducing average energy bills by about £150 a year.
