Parents 'Cut Back On Food To Pay For Homes'

Three million working parents in England are being forced to cut back on food so they can afford to pay for their homes.

A YouGov poll of working families has found that rising housing costs mean more and more of our wages are needed to keep a roof over our heads.

The problem has got so bad that more than one in 10 parents - over 750,000 people - admit to skipping meals rather than risk losing their home.

Recent figures from the government's English Housing Survey show households are spending 28% of their weekly income on housing costs alone - and that rises to 40% for private renters.

With rent or the mortgage swallowing so much of the monthly budget, many ordinary families are finding that regardless of how hard they work, any sudden drop in income from an unexpected job loss or illness can quickly put their homes at serious risk.

The poll found parents are facing tough choices. Some 13% say they have put off buying their children new shoes, with one in 10 delaying buying new school uniforms over the past year.

Now (NYSE: DNOW - news) charities like Shelter (BSE: SIPL.BO - news) are calling on the Government to provide a safety net strong enough to catch families who fall on hard times.

"This is a really terrible situation for many, many parents across the country," said the CEO of Shelter, Campbell Robb.

"What we're seeing is that people are just struggling to keep up their costs. Housing has gone up ... but other costs have gone up too.

"Generally speaking it's not about people being in places they can't afford. It's the places they're in becoming unaffordable."