at the same time, rents have gone up by around 11%, on average, driven by the shortage of property available. and there s been a big increase in the number of no fault evictions, despite the government promising to ban that in england. as part of the bbc s rental health week, our cost of living correspondent colletta smith has been following the stories of those navigating the pressures of the rental market. as you can see, underneath s completely disgusting. all the wall is waterlogged. chiara and her husband complained about mould and damp in their london flat and were issued with a section 21 eviction order injanuary. there s, like, water between the panes. ..and we ve been following their house hunt. so, a good location. 1,500 for a one bed. this is the kitchen, yeah, there s the garden. she s had enough of being dragged around flats all week. 0ur old letting agent e mailed to say that they re keeping our full deposit, so i spent all day yesterday trying to sort that out, and just
the liberal democrats have accused the conservatives of making the cost of living crisis worse, as the party launched its campaign for local elections in england in may. the party s leader, sir ed davey, said the tory government had crashed the economy and added hundreds of pounds to people s monthly mortgage payments. here s our political correspondent, jonathan blake. breaking down what they call a blue wall of conservative support, the lib dems gave their now familiar message a rural spin to launch the party s campaign for local elections next month. hi, everybody! the theme continued, as the lib dem leader, sir ed davey, took his tractor to berkhamsted, in hertfordshire, this morning one of many rural areas where council seats are upforgrabs. his focus, the cost of living and health services, which he claims are on the brink. well, on the 4th of may, the british people can send the conservatives a very strong message, that they re fed up of them. that they think they ve betra
meters to be given the choice to have it removed. energy firms have paused force fitting the meters until the end of this month but what happens next is yet to be announced. our cost of living correspondent colletta smith has more. so the noodles have just been placed into boiling water. everyone here is keen to stay warm, have a chat and learn how to cook without spending a fortune. i ve got an electric throw and i plug that in, put it around me, rather than put an electric fire on. get stuck in. jackie s here with her pals judy, madge and joe. but while they all pay by direct debit, jackie s gas is on a pre payment meter. and her gas costs more as a result. it isn t fair. everybody should be paying the same amount. but, you know, that s the way it goes at the moment. mary turns 80 this year and was switched to a pre payment meter for gas and electricity after struggling to pay her bills. she says the thought of not being able to get out to the shops to top up in bad weather does wo
scotland and wales who ll be paid if you used less electricity for an hour tonight as part of a scheme to avoid blackouts on very cold days. those who signed up to the service it started at 5pm and ended when we went on air will get discounts if they delayed using their washing machines for example. and the energy regulator 0fgem is to investigate energy firms that are forcibly placing struggling customers on pre payment meters, sometimes without their even knowing about it, leaving them at risk of having no energy supply at all. here s our cost of living correspondent colletta smith. cara s getting the washing done early today and hoping to get a bit of cash in the process. she works for the nhs, and normally five o clock is the moment she gets home and the energy dial starts to whizz up. we have ourtea, and in the dishwasher would go on, and then sometimes i might put the washer on when i come in, and then the dryer on till when i go to bed. but she ll get paid a few pounds by
of their christmas spending with about a third of those saying they are not confident they ll be able to pay it back. worries around bills are part of most people s lives now. more than 80% of respondents said they are concerned by the rising cost of living. and with further strains on the economy, the survey indicates two fifths of people are now worried about potentially losing theirjob this year. more and more households are struggling with just getting by, the very basics. the bbc s cost of living correspondent colletta smith has been to west yorkshire to talk to parents. it s show time at the castleford tigers dance class. and like so many people, parents here are working hard to make sure their children still have something to cheer about while keeping a lid on spending. for me, it s the shopping, the bills. you try. something that you used to get for £3.50, for some chicken breasts, are now £4.50. and if you re doing that,