Cost of living crisis: New figure show Peterborough households likely to be hardest hit

As the cost of living crisis threatens to make the winter a bleak challenge for many, new figures show where Peterborough households are likely to be hardest hit.

According to the Office for National Statistics, more than half of the households in Peterborough are currently living with some form of deprivation.

It says that of the 277,600 households in the city, 55 per cent - 152,680 - are living with a ‘dimension’ of deprivation as measured by the Census 2021, which has highlighted the five wards that are regarded as the most ‘deprived’ in the city.

However, the new findings are a snapshot of the situation in March last year and many more householders are expected to face a tough struggle as the cost of living crisis deepens driven by record food inflation, rising energy prices plus higher mortgage costs and credit repayments as interest rates reach a 14 year high.

The hardships facing many households have been underlined by the Census, which classified householders under four ‘dimensions of deprivation’.

The first is where any member of a household, who is not a full-time student, is either unemployed or long-term sick, and the second covers households where no person has at least five or more GCSE passes or equivalent qualifications, and no 16 to 18-year-olds are full-time students.

The third is where any person has general health that is “bad” or “very bad” or has a long-term health problem, and the fourth where the household’s accommodation is overcrowded or is in a shared dwelling, or has no central heating.

While the deprivation rate for Peterborough is higher than the national average of 51.7 per cent yet it is a slight improvement on a decade ago when 59.9 per cent of households were said to be living in deprivation.

The Census has flagged up five wards with the highest deprivation rates in Peterborough, which have also shown an improvement over the last 10 years.

They are:

1. North Bretton and Westwood: 67.6% of households here were deprived in at least one dimension at the time of the 2021 census, down from 72.3% in 2011.

2. Dogsthorpe: 67.5% (74.8% in 2011)

3. Millfield and Bourges Boulevard: 67.2% (74%)

4. Orton Malborne and Goldhay: 65.8% (70.3%)

5. Paston: 64.3% (71.8%)

The neighbourhood with the lowest level of deprivation was Barnack, Wittering and Wansford, at 40.6%.

Poverty campaigners say help is urgently needed for struggling households this winter.

The Cambridgeshire Community Foundation has launched its Surviving Winter Appeal to raise £25,000 to support vulnerable households facing fuel poverty.

It is supported by Citizens Advice Peterborough and its chief executive Keith Jones said: “We have seen an increased demand for help from local residents of over 30 per cent due to the cost-of-living crisis and the difficulty families are facing to buy food and heat their homes so any help we can give to support people at this challenging time are greatly appreciated.”

Michael O’Toole, the foundation’s chief executive, said: “We know vulnerable people including families with young children and isolated older people will see fuel prices rocket this winter.

"Devastatingly, this leads to people having to choose whether to heat their homes or cook a hot meal.”