The average UK household spent £406 per week in 2002-03 with transport being the largest area of expenditure according to the latest annual Expenditure and Food Survey published by the Office for National Statistics. The average household spends £59 per week on transport, including buying and running vehicles as well as public transport fares. Spending on recreation and culture represented the second highest outgoing, with households on average paying out £56 every week on TVs, computers, newspapers, books, leisure activities and package holidays. This compares with £54 per week in 2001-02.

Food purchases contributed £40 to weekly household expenditure - £10 of which went on meat, £5 on fresh fruit and vegetables and £2 on chocolate and confectionery. Household spending in the UK averaged £406 per week, with the lowest income groups spending £135 and the highest ten per cent spending £883. Households in the lowest income range spent the highest proportion of their income on food and housing, fuel and power.

Mobile phone ownership increased from 27 to 70 per cent between 1998-99 and 2002-03. Fifty five per cent of households now have a home computer and 45 per cent are connected to the Internet. By contrast 29 per cent of households own a dishwasher.

Launching the report, National Statistician, Len Cook commented "The voluntary co-operation of a representative cross-section of almost 7,000 households shows the richness and diversity of spending habits in different households across regions. Such vital data is willingly provided by citizens in their living rooms across the country. For nearly 50 years, this survey has been the most important regular source of our understanding of the economic well-being of families and households in the UK."

EXPENDITURE ACROSS INCOME BANDS

For households in the lowest income range the highest categories of spending were food and non-alcoholic drinks and housing, fuel and power (excluding mortgage interest payments, council tax/rates). For households in the upper five deciles, however, the highest expenditure was for transport and recreation and culture.

As a proportion of their total expenditure, households in the lowest income group spent twice as much (16 per cent) on food and non alcoholic drinks as those in the highest income group (8 per cent).

Spending on tobacco was highest for households in the middle income groups who spent up to £7 a week compared to £3.80 for those in the lowest group and £5.10 in the highest group.

HOW SPENDING VARIES WITH AGE

Average weekly expenditure for all households in 2002-03 was £406. This varied by age from the highest at £497 in households where the reference person was aged 30 to 49 to the lowest at £177 in households where the reference person was aged 75 or over.

The proportion of spending going on food and non-alcoholic drinks rose with age from eight per cent where the reference person was aged under 30 to 17 per cent for those aged 75 or over. The proportion spent on restaurants and hotels decreased with age from 11 per cent of total spending where the reference person was aged under 30 to six per cent for those aged 75 and over.

Households where the reference person was aged 50 to 64 spent more than other age groups on fresh fruit, vegetables and potatoes. Those in the under 30 age group spent the least. Spending on chocolate and confectionery was highest for the 30 to 49 age group at £2.30 a week and lowest for those aged 75 or over at £1.20 a week.

Spending on newspapers was highest for households with a reference person aged 65 to 74 at nearly £3 a week and lowest for the under 30 age group at 70p a week.

REGIONAL SPENDING IN THE UK

Averaged over the last two years total expenditure varied from £486 a week in London to £335 in Wales. London, the South East and East of England were the only regions in which average expenditure was higher than the UK average. Spending in the North East, Yorkshire and the Humber and Wales was between 12 and 16 per cent lower than the UK average.

Households in Northern Ireland spent a higher proportion on clothing and footwear than anywhere else, 8 per cent compared with the UK average of 6 per cent.

Households in London spent by far the most on transport services at £17.90 a week, more than double the UK average of £8.40. However, they spent the least on petrol, diesel and other motor oils at £11.00 a week, compared to a UK average of £14.70.

Rural areas spent more than other areas on household goods and services, at £36.90 a week. They were also the highest spending households on food and non-alcoholic drinks (£46.30 a week), transport (£73.10 a week) and recreation and culture (£63.50 a week).

TRENDS IN HOUSEHOLD SPENDING

Leisure goods and leisure services were again the largest item of expenditure with an average of £74 a week, 19 per cent of total expenditure. Around 17 per cent of total expenditure went on housing (£67 a week) and food and non-alcoholic drinks (£64 a week). Spending on motoring has increased steadily from £30 a week in 1978 to £62 in 2002-03. This was equivalent to 11 per cent of total spending in 1978 and 16 per cent in 2002-03.

Total expenditure on leisure and household services has more than doubled as a proportion from nine per cent of all expenditure in 1978 to 20 per cent in 2002-03. The largest growth has been in leisure services, such as holidays and entertainment, from £16 a week in 1978 to £54 a week in 2002-03. Household services, such as telephone bills and domestic help, also grew substantially from £9 to £23 a week.

BACKGROUND TO THE EXPENDITURE & FOOD SURVEY

The EFS is a voluntary sample survey and is conducted annually. The field work is carried out by the Office for National Statistics in Great Britain, and by the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency of the Department of Finance and Personnel in Northern Ireland, using almost identical questionnaires.

In 2002-03, 6,927 households in the United Kingdom participated in the survey, a response rate of 58 per cent in Great Britain and 56 per cent in Northern Ireland. The random sample of households to be visited is designed so that the EFS is representative of all regions of the U K and of different types of households. The survey is continuous: interviews are spread evenly over the calendar year to ensure that seasonal expenditure is covered.

The EFS shows how households spend their money; how much goes on food, clothing and so on; and how spending patterns vary depending upon income, household composition, and regional location of households. The survey also contains data on household income and its sources.

The main historical purpose of the EFS (formerly Family Expenditure Survey) is to define the 'basket of goods' for the Retail Prices Index (RPI). The RPI is the primary measure of inflation, and it has a vital role in the uprating of state pensions and welfare benefits, tax allowances and savings, as well as being a key macroeconomic indicator.

Click here for a summary of the EFS Survey 2002-03 (, 33Kb)

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