A new report has served to confirm the fears of many consumer groups and charities – that millions of UK households are having to cut back on their food bills and other essential simply to pay for their gas and electricity.

For several months now, organisations such as Help the Aged have been shouting Cassandra-like from the wings for the government to do more to help the most vulnerable in British society, particularly the elderly who are at the greatest risk from cold weather yet who are the least able to go online and switch utilities suppliers.

Now, such claims don't appear so sensationalist, with fresh research carried out by Consumer Focus revealing that 44 per cent of customers have been forced to cut back on essential items as the average combined fuel bill stands at £1,288.

What's more, the study also found that 65 per cent of those polled were "shocked" at the size of their most recent utilities bill, with around the same proportion far from optimistic that the recently-announced price cuts from the 'big six' suppliers will make any real difference to their personal finances.

Commenting on the findings, Jonathan Stearn, spokesman for Consumer Focus, said: "It is disgraceful that huge winter energy bills are causing such misery for so many of the most vulnerable families, pensioners and disabled people."

Despite the lack of optimism shown by many consumers, it can't be denied that prices are now starting to move in the right direction, spelling good news for those savvy web-enabled consumers who make a point of shopping and switching utilities suppliers for the best deal.

Just this week, Npower announced that it is to cut its electricity rates by eight per cent at the end of this month, thereby cutting the typical bill by £43 a year.

While this may be a relatively insignificant sum and comes less than six months after the same firm put prices up by 14 per cent, it is an indication that the recent fall in wholesale oil prices are starting to trickle down to the ordinary household.

Meanwhile, consumers in London have also been boosted by the news that EDF Energy is set to reduce bills in the capital by an average of 8.8 per cent, while British Gas recently rolled out a ten pent reduction in gas bills, which is already benefitting a large number of households.

Certainly, there's a long way to go and the critics are far from silenced, but, barring another spike in wholesale food prices, it appears that the problem of fuel poverty is finally being addressed by those that really matter.