A typical family’s household costs are set to go up by £1,700 next year, according to analysis.

The study said that higher fuel and energy prices were mainly responsible for the projected £33.60 per week increase in the cost of living. They would be compounded by a surge in supermarket bills that has not yet been pushed through because the grocery industry does not want to risk losing customers at the crucial Christmas shopping period.

The study by the independent Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR), conducted for this evening’s BBC Panorama, projected that the inflation rate would rise to 4.6 per cent by Christmas.