UK households spend more on housing
Britons spend more than twice as much of their weekly budget on housing as they did 50 years ago but only half as much on food, official statistics show.
Mortgage interest payments or rent accounted for 19% of spending in 2006, up from 9% in 1957, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS) based on a survey of nearly 7,000 households in 2006.
Using a slightly broader measure of housing costs, which includes mortgage interest payments, rent, various charges and maintenance, UK households spent an average of £143 a week on housing-related costs in 2006, out of an average weekly expenditure of £456.
Meanwhile spending on food and non-alcoholic drink fell from a third of the average weekly budget to 15%.
Greater disposable income means leisure goods and services now account for 19% of weekly spending compared to 9% in 1957.
“Expenditure on leisure remained fairly stable until 1977. From 1977 until 2006 the expenditure has increased at a greater rate than in the 20 years between 1957 and 1977,” the ONS Family Spending 2007 report says.
Other highlights from the 50th anniversary edition of Family Spending show that since 1957 the proportion of the average weekly household budget spent on fuel and power has halved, from 6% to 3%.
Spending on clothing and footwear has also halved (from 10% to 5%). Expenditure on tobacco has fallen from 6%, to just 1% while spending on alcoholic drink is unchanged at 3%. Motoring and travel costs have risen from 8% to 16%.
The survey - now known as the Expenditure and Food Survey - gathers information on household income and spending on goods and services, ranging from food and housing to transport and leisure. It is a key source of data for the Retail Price Index and is also widely used by business and academia.