Read to the end to find out how much UK billionaires are making, how Worm Championships are bringing a community together, and the extra price you’ll have to pay for chocolate on your biscuits.

Good morning. It's Isabella McRae here, cost of living reporter at The Big Issue. It is that time of the month again: the latest inflation statistics are out and we’ve had a little bit of time to digest the news.

Despite inflation dropping to 8.7%, it is important to be clear that prices are still rising. The rate at which prices are increasing has finally eased into single figures, but we’re still paying much more for things than we were last year. 

Skyrocketing grocery prices are particularly worrying, with food costs rising by more than 19% in the year up to March 2023. Welcome to the food frenzy. 

The Resolution Foundation warned this week that the cost of living crisis isn’t ending, it’s just entering a new phase as rising food prices show no signs of slowing. The extortionate cost of groceries disproportionately affects low-income families, who typically spend a greater proportion of their income on food. 

We’ve been reporting on the impact of soaring food prices since the start of the cost of living crisis, with hundreds of thousands of people increasingly turning to food banks for help or skipping meals because they can’t afford to eat. But food is going to become even more of a worry this summer, overtaking energy bills as the biggest concern for families in the cost of living crisis. 

Ofgem is set to announce a sharp drop to the energy price cap today and experts have predicted  energy bills should fall from July. But before you throw the confetti, these bills will still be double what they were at the beginning of last year, and the government’s energy rebate scheme has come to a halt. This means households probably won’t reap the rewards of paying less to their energy provider. 

“The latest price cap will send a chill down the spine of customers,” says Simon Francis, coordinator of the End Fuel Poverty Coalition. “People now face many more months with bills remaining stubbornly high. This will see them continue to use up their savings, run up credit card bills, fall into debt with energy firms or turn to food banks as the cost of living crisis deepens.”

Over the next year, inflation is expected to continue falling (eventually reaching 5%), but prices will remain high and the impact on low-income households will be devastating. 

If you are looking for money-saving tips and support in the cost of living crisis, we’ve created a Cost of living help group on Facebook. Please get involved and join in the conversation, because you never know who might benefit from your insights. 

Here’s everything else you need to know this week…

Need to know basis

📈 Inflate your income. How much does your pay packet need to rise to keep up with inflation? My colleague Evie, The Big Issue’s employment reporter, has the latest. In related news, the government has admitted that the minimum wage isn’t enough to live on alone with prices so high, so they’ve made it illegal to withhold tips from hospitality staff.

⬆️ An upgrade. The International Monetary Fund (IMF), which previously predicted Britain would face the worst 2023 of any G7 nation, revised its estimates and said the UK would grow by 0.4% this year. It’s not the crushing recession we were warned about (yet) but we’re a long way off doing well. Here’s an explainer on what needs to happen for the cost of living crisis to come to an end. 

🔄 Government redesign. The Big Issue founder Lord Bird has launched a new plan to help governments end endemic poverty. He set up a new  all-party parliamentary group is calling for a business response to the social crisis, and he would like the government to form a ‘Ministry of Poverty’ with the specific aim of tackling the issue.

🥇 Hero neighbours. Meet four people who are trying their hardest to help their community in the cost of living crisis, from an ex-soldier in Peterborough to a community centre manager in County Derry, in this Guardian article by Ellie Violet Bramley. It also features headteacher Katie Barry, who I spoke to last year. 

🏠 Rent debt. Renters are twice as likely to fall into problem debt than the rest of the population. If your rent is driving you into debt, contact charities like StepChange or Citizens Advice for support or call the NationalDebtline on 0808 808 4000.

📅 Payment dates. If you are eligible for cost of living payments, you should have received yours by 17 May. The next one for people on means-tested benefits will be paid in August. And new dates have been released for disability cost of living payments, which will hit bank accounts between 20 June and 4 July, 2023. 

🌐 Broadband block. One million people may have cut off their broadband because they cannot afford it in the cost of living crisis, according to Citizens Advice. Ofcom has found 4.3 million people are missing out on cheaper social tariffs or special low-cost packages. MoneySavingExpert has lots of tips on that. 

🧼 Hygiene help. The stigma around hygiene poverty is holding people back from getting help, according to the Hygiene Bank. Some parents are reusing nappies for their babies because they are so desperate. There is help out there if you need it – we have a guide to getting free toiletries, including how to get free nappies. 

💰 Rich list. The Sunday Times Rich List is back. And (you guessed it), billionaires have acquired yet more billions. It’s a real-terms drop in their wealth though, perhaps some proof that the cost of living crisis really is affecting everyone. It has renewed calls for a wealth tax, with even billionaires themselves asking to be taxed more.

Meanwhile, the UK's foreign secretary James Cleverly has been accused by The Guardian of using a luxury jet frequented by billionaires and pop stars costing £10,000 an hour.

🍪 Cookie conundrum. Do you prefer your biscuits covered in chocolate? It’s bad news if you have a sweet tooth: it will cost you. Most food is VAT free, but it does get slapped on some snacks – including chocolate-covered biscuits, crisps made from potatoes (but not tortillas) and cereal bars. Be wise to it and it could save you money.

🏦 Pocket money. Children received a whopping 11% rise in their pocket money, according to research on the Natwest pocket money app reported in the Guardian, outstripping inflation! And they didn’t even have to strike. Some savvy kids worked for cash by making their parents’ coffee and smiling for family photos. In all seriousness, it’s important kids learn about money: we have a guide for parents.

Like what you're reading? Let people know by going to our sign-up article and sharing it on your social networks! You can also sign up to our 'Working on It' newsletter, about making work better, written by my colleague Evie Breese.

On a cheery note

Local community events can be a wonderful way to make it through tougher times but they can also be rather weird. In a field in Falmouth, people gather for the Worm Charming Championships. 

A wooden stick is scraped against the ground, mimicking the sound of rain and bringing worms up to the earth. There are also watering cans, graters, and instruments. People can get a worm caricature portrait or a temporary worm tattoo and learn how to build a bug hotel. There is a prize for the most inventive worm charming.

It is absurd fun created by artist Georgia Gendall, whose work is often about queering the landscape. “Everyone has this little space to do exactly what they want for half an hour,” she tells The Guardian’s Laura Snapes. “And that just doesn’t happen in this world.”

And in more cheery news, Survival Guide has been shortlisted for best news newsletter at the Publisher Newsletter Awards. And our sister newsletter Working on It has been shortlisted for best newsletter launch. Exciting!

Saving those coins

Did you know you could earn up to £200 by switching your bank account? Or you could rent out your spare bedroom on Airbnb? Or you can get a credit card that pays you money? There are lots of simple ways you can earn a little bit of money without having to work too hard for it. 

They won’t replace a pay rise, and it’s important to do your research and understand the risks, but there may be an option here that works for you and helps you earn that little bit extra cash to tide you over in the cost of living crisis. 

For more cost of living tips and to join in the conversation, check out our Cost of living help group on Facebook. 

Anyone doing something inspiring in your community or know about a cool initiative getting people through the cost of living crisis? Let me know at isabella.mcrae@bigissue.com

Dates for your diary 📅

25 May. Ofgem announces update to energy price cap.

1 June. Volunteers’ week. An annual celebration of the contribution millions of people make across the UK through volunteering in their communities.

7 June. Using human rights to strengthen your campaigning on the cost of living crisis.This is organised by Just Fair. 1pm, online.  

14 June. Healthy start scheme, ten-minute rule motion brought to parliament by Labour MP Emma Lewell-Buck. The private members bill will seek to ensure that families are automatically enrolled in the Healthy Start Scheme as only 60% of eligible families are currently getting the vital support. 

15 June. Frontline exChange London: The cost of living. England’s largest social work charity, Frontline, is hosting the final leg of its 10-year anniversary tour. This event will look into the cost of living and its impact on children and families over the next three to five years. 6pm, King's House, 242 Pentonville Road, London, N19JY.

20 June - 4 July. The vast majority of £150 disability cost of living payments are set to be made automatically over this two-week period. 

23-25 June. The Great Get Together, organised by the Jo Cox Foundation. People across the country come together to host events that unite their communities. Get involved. 

28 June. The Economics of the ‘Cost of Living Crisis’. A discussion-focused workshop on the economic, historic and political roots of the cost of living crisis from a working class perspective. 7pm, Granby Winter Garden, 37-39 Cairns Street, Liverpool, L8 2UW.

Anything I’ve missed or any events which should be on our radar? Let me know on isabella.mcrae@bigissue.com

Catch up 📺

The 2016 film I, Daniel Blake sounded the alarm about hunger in the UK. Since then, food bank use has doubled. My colleague Adrian Lobb, The Big Issue’s TV editor, spoke to its lead actor Dave Johns, and the interview is quite striking. “I hadn’t heard of food banks until I was in the film,” he said. “And now there’s more food banks than McDonald’s.”

Johns has now adapted I, Daniel Blake for the stage, and it opens at the Northern Stage, Newcastle upon Tyne, from 25 May. It will run there until 10 June, before moving on to Manchester, Exeter, Liverpool, Leeds and Coventry. 

Sunny side up 🌞

Have you met Sophie from Romania? The internet’s favourite dog is the adoptee of ex-BBC journalist Rory Cellan-Jones. Read all about their journey together.