11/12/2013
Energy Costs 'Hit Family Budgets'
Newly released figures have revealed that housing expenses now account for the most expensive part of a family's budget.
The statistics, released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS), said the increased cost of energy helped to push housing costs up. As a result, it has overtaken transport as the largest part of household spending in 2012.
Housing includes rent, fuel, electricity and maintenance, but excludes maintenance.
On average, it was discovered that UK households spend £68 a week on housing and £64 on transport. The ONS said the rise was likely to have been driven in part by rises in gas and electricity prices, and the particularly cold winters in 2011 and 2012 would have contributed to additional spending on heating.
However, it added that an increase in the number of people renting their homes was also a factor in the findings.
In total, 34% of homes were rented in 2012, compared with 29% in previous years.
Looking at transport, which was the largest element in family budgets in 2011, saw the biggest spending reduction, the report stated. Once inflation is taken into account, spending on transport fell from £87 a week in 2001 to £64 last year, despite a surge in the cost of petrol and diesel prices. The ONS said it was likely that motorists had responded to such increases by reducing their journeys, while the fuel efficiency in vehicles had also improved.
(JP/CD)
The statistics, released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS), said the increased cost of energy helped to push housing costs up. As a result, it has overtaken transport as the largest part of household spending in 2012.
Housing includes rent, fuel, electricity and maintenance, but excludes maintenance.
On average, it was discovered that UK households spend £68 a week on housing and £64 on transport. The ONS said the rise was likely to have been driven in part by rises in gas and electricity prices, and the particularly cold winters in 2011 and 2012 would have contributed to additional spending on heating.
However, it added that an increase in the number of people renting their homes was also a factor in the findings.
In total, 34% of homes were rented in 2012, compared with 29% in previous years.
Looking at transport, which was the largest element in family budgets in 2011, saw the biggest spending reduction, the report stated. Once inflation is taken into account, spending on transport fell from £87 a week in 2001 to £64 last year, despite a surge in the cost of petrol and diesel prices. The ONS said it was likely that motorists had responded to such increases by reducing their journeys, while the fuel efficiency in vehicles had also improved.
(JP/CD)
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Northern Ireland WeatherToday:A sunny but frosty start for many. However cloud increases by midday with a few showers reaching the north coast, these mostly light but spreading inland this afternoon. Chilly. Maximum temperature 8 °C.Tonight:A rather cloudy evening with scattered showers. Becoming drier through the night with some good clear spells developing and a patchy frost away from coasts. Minimum temperature 0 °C.