MORE than half of people living in England’s most deprived areas are spending less on food and essentials amid the cost-of-living crisis, official figures suggest. 

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) survey on Friday, exposes divisions across the country in how people are being affected by soaring prices. 

People living in England’s most deprived districts were almost twice as likely (58 per cent) to report cutting down on food bills and other essentials than those living in the least (33 per cent), according to responses collected in the fortnight up to November 20. 

There was also a stark difference between areas on their ability to pay energy bills. 

One in 10 people living in the poorest areas said they had fallen behind on their electricity or gas bills and more than three-fifths said they had struggled to meet the payments in the latest period in November. 

In contrast, just 2 per cent of those in the most affluent districts said they had fallen behind on utility bills and just over a third reported facing difficulties covering the payments. 

The ONS used the index of multiple deprivation (IMD) to classify areas into five groups, ranging from the most deprived to least deprived fifth of areas.

The IMD takes into account key domains such as income, education, health and crime to determine the deprivation of an area, with cities like Manchester, Liverpool, Kingston upon Hull and London being home to some of the most deprived neighbourhoods in England.

Wales and Scotland were not included in the analysis due to the relatively smaller sample sizes in its survey, the ONS said.

Foodbank charity the Trussell Trust said more support was needed from the government to help the poorest get by in the months before benefits are increased in April. 

“We know many people are already in financial crisis now and, for them, April will feel very far away,” a spokesperson said. 

“Rising costs and historically low levels of social security mean that, despite the support provided so far, thousands of people are already having to go without the essentials. 

“In the last six months, 320,000 people turned to Trussell Trust foodbanks for the first time and this number is likely to rise.”

In his Autumn Budget, Chancellor Jeremy Hunt announced that benefits would be increased in line with inflation, but the uplift will not come into effect until spring next year.