Cash-strapped Scots will have to fork out around £1,100 extra a year on staying warm and eating, it has been suggested, as a new survey revealed nearly half are using their heating less to help make ends meet.
Which? has estimated Scottish people will spend an extra £21.13 per week on food and energy in April 2022, compared to March 2020.
According to a poll of more than 1,000 Scots, 86% are worried about energy prices – a huge increase on the 59% who told the same survey they were worried last year.
Rocio Concha, director of policy and advocacy at Which?, said: “More and more households will need support as energy bills and other costs rise in the coming months.
“Businesses and regulators – as well as the UK and Scottish governments – must work quickly to ensure they are ready to support anyone struggling to make ends meet.”
In the survey, by polling firm Yonder, concern about fuel and food prices has also soared.
In last year’s report, 52% of respondents said they were worried about the cost of filling up their cars and 63% about the cost of their supermarket shop.
But this year’s research found 81% were worried about fuel costs and 77% about the price of food.
In the poll, which took place between November and December, 46% of people said they had put the heating on less to keep costs down, while four in 10 had reduced their use of lights and appliances around the home.
Of the two thirds of Scots who said they had noticed higher food prices, many had to change how they shopped and 13% had been skipping meals entirely.
Which? said 40% of the group bought extra items when on promotion, 49% bought cheaper alternative products, 41% went for cheaper brands, while 46% changed supermarkets.
The consumer rights organisation has also analysed Ofcom data to reveal the performance of broadband within the devolved nations of the UK.
The analysis shows that broadband speeds in Scotland lag other parts of the UK.
Scotland has an average fixed broadband download speed of 73.7 megabits per second (Mbps).
This is slower than that in England (88.5 Mbps) and Northern Ireland (82.7 Mbps), but faster than Wales (55.9 Mbps).
Broadband performance also varies considerably between cities in Scotland.
Edinburgh has a far greater proportion of households with speeds of 128 Mbps, but speeds in Aberdeen are much lower than other cities.
The average download speed is less than 64 Mbps in two thirds of areas in Aberdeen, whereas this is the case for only 11% of areas in Edinburgh, 12% in Dundee and three in 10 areas in Glasgow.
Concha said: “The UK Government must give further clarity about when those living in the hardest-to-reach areas can expect improved connectivity.”
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