Now we are comfortably within 2023, the ‘Cost of Living Crisis’ which had dominated Britain’s news in 2022 has seemingly been pushed to the side however, many people are still suffering the consequences of raised energy, food and home costs.

The money-saving expert and graduate of Cardiff University, Martin Lewis, has personally written to the chancellor, Jeremy Hunt, to “urgently consider postponing the 20% increase on the energy price guarantee scheduled for April.” Lewis argues that this significant increase will have a detrimental effect on “people’s pockets and mental health.

The number of fuel poor households will rise drastically from the already shocking 6.7 million to 8.4 million from April approaching double the 4.5 million households in this position in October 2021”. Lewis is yet to receive a reply from Hunt.

In order to combat raising gas prices one family in Hull had all their radiators removed and had instead installed electric infrared wallpaper to stay warm during the cold Spring months. Thin, metallic sheets made by Ihelios are hidden behind the plaster of his walls, which are connected to the mains electricity of his house. These sheets emit heat by infrared waves.

Instead of using costly gas, the sheets use little electricity and had reduced the bills of Bilski residency significantly. Another way of monitoring gas and electric bills was by installing a smart metre, but many have found the metre a burden. The BBC interviewed Karen Alexandra who claimed that the constant checking of her smart metre had left her “anxious about her finances and feeling out of control”. The smart metre nicknamed ‘Demon on your shoulder’ had to be turned against the wall and even hidden within her house to avoid her ‘smart metre anxiety’.

However, the rollout of the smart metre by the government was meant to help members of the public have a direct viewing of their energy consumption and consequent bills. More than half of all households in the UK now have a smart metre.

The government has spent billions on their roll out, and for many households they are a useful tool. BBC Morning Live’s Dr Ranj said: “Anxiety can be situational or general. When it’s related to devices like smart metres there are some simple steps that can help alleviate the stress such as: focusing elsewhere, getting outside, taking control, stopping catastrophizing and getting help”.

To help the continuous rise of household bills, the British Government has issued a rollout of a series of payments to help residents. This follows an announcement in the UK Parliament which confirmed the payment schedule for five direct cost of living payments through the 2023/24 financial year (Daily Record). More than 400,00 Welsh families will receive this payment scheme which has been estimated to be over £300. The Senedd Committee for the Welsh Government has argued that these payments “will do little to prevent households falling into hardship”.

Students from Wales will get £1,000 more to help within their maintenance loans whilst those in England get just £200 on average.

The Welsh government had said that the maintenance loans and grants for its students would rise by 9.4% from September, with support for full-time students increasing from £10,710 to £11,720 on average. Students in England will get a rise of just 2.8% in the next academic year after the Westminster government’s announcement last week. (The Guardian).