Cost of living: Your questions answered on inflation, energy bills and food prices

What is really causing this situation, how has it been allowed to happen and what can be done to alleviate it in the short term? Ben Chapman answers your questions

Sales of alcohol in supermarkets were strong in April (PA) (PA Archive)

Living standards are expected to fall this year at their fastest pace for decades as prices rise and wages fail to keep up.

People on the lowest incomes are being hit hardest by the cost-of-living crisis because essential goods like gas, electricity and food are seeing the biggest increases.

Economists’ forecasts seem to get bleaker with alarming frequency. I'll be here on Monday 23 May to answer your questions on what it all means.

Many of us will have received alarming letters from energy companies informing us of massive increases to our monthly payments. No doubt you will have noticed prices on petrol forecourts hitting record levels.

Pricier fuel means extra costs for businesses, which will soon be passed on to consumers.

Russia's war in Ukraine is having an impact well beyond that country's borders, pushing up energy and food costs across Europe.

But the UK's cost-of-living crisis has much deeper roots and was already building long before Vladimir Putin ordered his troops to attack.

While we are all aware of how rising prices are affecting us, many questions likely remain.

What is really causing this situation, how has it been allowed to happen and what can be done to alleviate it in the short term, as well as protect us in future?

I’ll be here to answer your questions live at 1pm on Monday 23 May. To take part, register, then post your questions in the comments and I’ll answer as many as I can.