Standard of living costs for families rise five times more than earnings since before recession, figures show

But also for the first time, internet access is being counted as an essential for all groups including pensioners.

Overall the study, compiled for the Joseph Rowntree Foundation by academics at the Centre for Research in Social Policy in Loughborough University, concludes that a single person with no children would need £16,284 a year to be able to get by and maintain a basic decent standard of living, up from £13,450 in 2008.

By contrast a couple with children, would now need to earn £20,287 each – or £40,574 to maintain a minimum standard.

In 2008 they would have needed just under £28,000 between them to get by to roughly the same standard.

That increase of 46 per cent compares with a rise of only nine per cent in average earnings in that time.

Meanwhile pensioners now need £262.76 a week to meet a minimum standard of living, a rise of 30 per cent from the estimate in 2008.

However cuts in child benefit and tax credits mean that families with children get much less of the money needed to meet the minimum standard than other groups such as single people and pensioners.

Significantly the gap between those with and without children has grown nine times in the last six years.

In 2008 the difference between what a single person with no children and parent who was part of a couple would need to get by was only £450 a year. It now stands at £4,000.

Abigail Davis, one of the authors of the report, said: “Throughout the past few difficult years, the people we talk to have held a consistent view of what it means to live at an acceptable level in the UK.

“It means being able to afford to feed your family and heat your home properly, but also having enough to buy a birthday present for your children, and to spend time with your family away from home, such as the occasional meal out.

“The growing number of people who fall below this standard are unable to afford basic goods, services and activities that most of us would take for granted.”

Part of the rising cost of living has been compounded by local cuts. For example, reduced rural bus services mean that, unlike when the study began, a car is now deemed an essential for people with children.

But the cost of many basic items have also risen faster than prices in general. For example food prices have risen by 26 per cent and domestic energy is up 45 per cent.

Julia Unwin, Chief Executive of Joseph Rowntree Foundation, said: “These figures show there is still a lot of work needed to make up the lost ground for low income families.

“The income they need to make ends meet has soared at a time when their ability to make up the shortfall is severely constrained.

“There is no guarantee recovery will restore living standards for the poorest families, so we need joined-up measures to help alleviate the pressure on the worst off households: as the recovery gathers momentum, we must ensure those in greatest need feel the benefits of growth.”

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