A summit will provide an opportunity to confront the factors driving up the cost of living, the Minister of Home Affairs said today, after nearly eight in ten respondents to a survey said the island would become “unaffordable” for them in the next five years.

Alexa Lightbourne said the daylong event at the Hamilton Princess & Beach Club on June 25 was designed to find “actionable solutions” to address living standards.

She said in the 2025 Speech from the Throne: “The Government made a clear commitment to tackle Bermuda’s cost of living with strategy, co-ordination and courage.”

Ms Lightbourne, who is leading the implementation of the plan, said the event sought to build on data collected by the Government in a recent cost of living survey — with affordability to take centre stage.

She added: “It is a space to explore the future of key industries and explore real solutions.”

She said more than 2,200 people were surveyed, with 40 per cent highlighting housing as their most challenging expense.

A further 29.2 per cent cited high food and grocery expenses, while 14.9 per cent raised healthcare and 9.4 per cent said utility bills were their most pressing costs.

Ms Lightbourne said: “These figures represent families under pressure and households forced to make tough decisions.”

She said 78.6 per cent of the survey participants indicated that the island would become “unaffordable” for them in the next five years and 82.6 per cent said they expected to struggle to meet basic needs in the next 12 months.

Noting that the data highlighted that housing was unaffordable and food and healthcare costs were unsustainable, Ms Lightbourne added: “These results confirm what many of us already knew — that operational costs, from imported goods to energy prices to supply chain bottlenecks, are a significant barrier to lowering consumer prices.”

She said the data revealed “the deep-seated concern and frustration” of residents, adding: “The results further confirm the reality that the cost of daily life is outpacing the earnings and options of too many Bermudians.”

She said co-ordinated policy interventions were required, with the summit giving an opportunity to translate data into policy.

Industry partners and other groups supporting efforts to mitigate high costs are to be announced as the Government seeks to “define and declare the next steps”.

Ms Lightbourne said: “We know that Bermuda deserves action, armed by a new spirit of shared and collective responsibility.”

A cost of living strategy is to be delivered to the Cost of Living Commission after the summit.