SCOTS are having to find over £230 a month more this year from their household budgets to pay for essentials as warnings are made that there will be deaths this winter if the cost of living crisis is not tackled.

An analysis of the typical monthly costs of essentials has revealed that some Scots on an average salary of £31,672-a-year will have just £90 left to pay for other expenses such as council tax, water bills, TV subscriptions, insurance and nights out at the end of the month after paying out for food, fuel, energy and a mortgage.

It comes as the gravest outlook from analysts Auxilione predicts further pain to come as it forecasts that the annual energy bills cap set by the market regulator Ofgem will soar from £1971 now to around £3600 in October and then to £4,467 in January and top £5000 in April.

And a prediction by consultancy firm Cornwall Insight suggests record-high energy prices “are forecast to remain above pre-2021 average until 2030” until there is more wind and solar power.

Analysis shows that since the end of last year the cost of essentials per month for some Scots with a variable rate mortgage has gone up from around £1780 to £2017, while the average take home pay is at just £2,106.86.

An analysis based on official data shows that the average monthly annual household food costs, including eating out, has risen from £412 to £445.

The average cost of filling a 55-litre family car with diesel twice a month in Scotland has gone up by £55.24 from £164.02 to £219.26 according to RAC data.

Around 1.5m Scots households on default tariffs paying by direct debit also saw their energy bills typically soar by up nearly £60 a month from £106.41 to £164.25 in April after Ofgem hiked the bills price cap by the biggest increase yet.

And according to Moneyfacts, after the latest Bank of England base interest rate rises, householders on a typical variable rate mortgage of £200,000 over 25 years will now pay £1189.07 a month rather than £1100.34 at the end of last year.

Around 200,000 Scots have a variable mortgage which fluctuates as it tracks the Bank of England base rate which is now at 1.75%. In November it was at 0.1%.

Around 100,000 people on fixed-rate mortgage deals which it is estimated are scheduled to end during 2022 in Scotland will also be hit by interest rates rises.

Frazer Scott, chief executive of Energy Action Scotland who has warned of a "humanitarian disaster" if action is not taken to bail out householders in the cost of living crisis said: "There is a huge gap to be filled in terms of financial support particularly for those on the lowest incomes.

"The real risk is that this winter far too many people will simply not have enough money to switch on the heating to gain a level of warmth and comfort that is actually conducive to maintaining their health and well-being.

"There is a real risk that the number of excess winter deaths this year will be an all-time high aside from the pandemic."

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John Dickie, director of Child Poverty Action Group (CPAG) in Scotland added: “Households in Scotland and across the UK are already on the edge trying to make ends meet, with low income families particularly hard hit.

"Parents are going without meals to feed their children and the stress is already taking its toll on mental health and on children’s wellbeing. "The latest price rise forecasts are stark in revealing the inadequacy of current support. Families have nothing left to cut. UK and Scottish government must act to the absolute maximum extent of their powers to prevent families going to the wall.”

More than 100,000 people have pledged to cancel their direct debits for gas and electricity from October in protest against rocketing energy prices, according to a campaign group.

Don’t Pay UK, which was launched in June this year by a group of activists operating anonymously, said its campaign had reached “millions of people” and the support received so far “demonstrates the anger and frustration at a broken energy system that needs to be drastically transformed for the interests of people”.

“In just a few weeks, over 100,000 of us from across the country have come together to say we will refuse to be pushed into fuel poverty and we no longer want to pay for the profits of the energy companies,” it said.

There has been anger at Shell, BP and Scottish Gas owner Centrica announcing bumper financial results as households struggle with bills.

The almost £7 billion in profit made by oil giant BP in the second quarter of this year - the biggest for 14 years - has been described as “obscene”.

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Shell has said that its profits hit nearly £9.5 billion for the second quarter of the year in a record set of results.

And Centrica’s half-year profit went up five-fold to £1.3 billion after being boosted by rocketing energy prices that are battering households.

The firms' huge increase in profits has been fuelled by higher prices for oil and gas, which have risen sharply due to the war in Ukraine.

In recent months, Russia has reduced supplies to Europe following the invasion and fears are growing it may switch off the taps altogether.

Former Prime Minister Gordon Brown has suggested scrapping the price cap and negotiating lower rates with energy bosses.

He also suggested ministers should temporarily nationalise any providers that go bust.

"Time and tide wait for no-one. Neither do crises. They don't take holidays, and don't politely hang fire – certainly not to suit the convenience of a departing PM and the whims of two potential successors," the former Labour PM said.

Earlier this week, Cromwell Insights predicted that bills will surge to £3,582 in October, and is set to increase to £4,266 from next January.

The Scottish Government’s resilience committee led by the First Minister Nicola Sturgeon which met yesterday to discuss further support for households called for the scrapping of the price cap and pledged an emergency budget review to assess "any and all opportunities to redirect additional resources to those most in need, reduce the burdens on business and stimulate the Scottish economy".

Ofgem said: “The wholesale market continues to move extremely quickly so no forecast for next year is at all robust at this stage and will therefore have very limited value, especially for consumers who must always be the main priority.

“We cannot stop others from making predictions but we would ask that extreme caution is applied to any predictions for the price cap in January or beyond.”

A Government spokesperson said: "We are engaging with the electricity sector to drive forward reforms and to ensure the market delivers better results for people across the UK.

"In the meantime, and as we announced in May, the Government continues to evaluate the extraordinary profits seen in certain parts of the electricity generation sector and the appropriate and proportionate steps to take."