Think-tank: Recession risk ‘is looming into view’ The poorest households could see their cost of living jump by as much as 10% by this autumn, the Resolution Foundation think-tank has warned. It said that while public finances look healthier than expected at the time of the autumn Budget, with borrowing on course to be £30bn lower than forecast, the economic outlook has deteriorated significantly. Resolution Foundation research director James Smith said: “The chances of a living standards recovery this year are receding as rapidly as inflation is rising, and the risk of another recession is looming into view.” Looking ahead to next week’s spring statement, he added that Chancellor Rishi Sunak “will therefore need to make some tough, and potentially expensive, choices in how to respond.” Meanwhile, analysis by another think-tank, the New Economics Foundation, suggests that as many as 48% of all children could be living in households that are unable to meet the cost of some basic necessities by April. The report says a third of households, or 23.4m people, would have to cut back on some basics, such as food or heating. Urging the Government to act, Labour’s Louise Haigh said: “The Conservatives could help working people being hit hard by soaring prices; instead they’ve rejected the choice of a one-off windfall tax on oil and gas producers raking in billions,” while Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey has renewed his call for a VAT cut in response to surging inflation.