National survey suggests fall in number of smokers and rise in culture of eating out and recreational activities

Britons are spending less on booze, smoking and drugs and more on eating out and hotels according to the latest snapshot of family spending.

Weekly spending on alcohol, tobacco and narcotics fell below £12 for the first time since comparable records began in 2001-02, partly reflecting the decline in the number of people who smoke. Spending in this category has fallen by a third over the last decade according to the Office for National Statistics.



On the other hand, households spent more than £45 a week on restaurants and hotels for the first time in five years in the year ending March 2016, fuelled by rising disposable income and high rates of employment.

Average total spending – adjusted for inflation – was unchanged from a year earlier at about £529 a week, possibly reflecting weaker consumer confidence over the period, according to the ONS. Low income families continued to spend a higher proportion of their spending on food and energy compared with people on higher incomes.

Weekly spending was highest in London, at £652.40, while at the the other end of the scale, spending in the north-east was more than £200 lower, at £423.50. The ONS reported that the discrepancy was down to housing costs.

Toby Clark, director of research for Europe at Mintel, the market-research company, said the figures reflected a combination of people being more health conscious and shunning “stuff” in favour of experiences.

“There is a limit to the amount of stuff people can accumulate. People are spending money on experiences – holidays, seeing new exotic places, going to music festivals, eating out – rather than accumulating more things.”

The ONS asked 5,000 households to keep a diary of spending over a two-week period, offering an insight into the latest spending habits.

Jacob Kenedy, the chef and restaurateur behind London Bocca di Lupo, Vico, and Gelupo in central London, said eating out was becoming a way of life in Britain.

“We have one of the best restaurant scenes in London and that is helping to drive our cuisine nationally. Eating out is becoming part of life, it’s not just for special occasions. If we are able to invest more of our income into living well – whether that be living more healthily or enjoying life more – then it’s a good thing.”

A breakdown of what people spend showed that the UK was a nation hooked on sugar, with the average household spending more every week on cakes and biscuits than it does on bread. Whole milk is out of favour, with households spending 40p a week on the full fat version compared with £1.40 on low fat milk.

Technology has vastly changed what people spend money on over the past 20 years. The proportion of households that owned a mobile phone has jumped from 16% in 1997 to 95% in the year ending March 2016.

“To put this into context, 95% of UK households also have central heating, suggesting that communication devices such as mobile phones are now viewed as a necessity,” according to the ONS.

In a further sign of changing technology, nothing was spent on answering machines or fax machines according to households’ spending diaries. The ONS stressed, however, that UK households still spend money on more traditional pastimes, including 70p a week on the cinema and £4.60 on pets.

Jo Bulman, ONS statistician, said: “While overall household spending didn’t change much in real terms since the previous year, we did see some interesting shifts in the types of things people are spending their money on.”

The report showed that households have still not fully recovered from the blow dealt by the financial crisis, with family spending still below 2007 levels.

Spending habits change according to income levels, with the lowest income households having less to spend on non-essential items such as eating out.

The Equality Trust said that the richest 10% spend more on wine every week, at £9, than the poorest 10% spend on their water bills, at £7.30.



Wanda Wyporska, executive director at the trust, said there were often misconceptions about how lower income families spend their money, and that many people were working, budgeting and making difficult choices about which necessities to go without.

“There’s a gargantuan gap in spending between the richest and poorest households because there is such huge inequality in our society. We often hear the poor criticised for being wasteful, that’s a hard argument to make when the richest are spending more on their pets than the poorest are on clothing their families.

“We know millions more are in danger of falling into debt and poverty. It’s about time the government addressed the urgent need to reduce inequality and poverty, and support those who are clearly in dire need.”

Overall, transport was the single biggest weekly cost for households, averaging at £72.70 or 14% of total spending. It was closely followed by housing – excluding mortgage interest payments and council tax but including rent – fuel and power at £72.50 a week.

Among renters, the average weekly spend on rent was £92, rising to £167.10 in London. The average weekly mortgage payment was £147.60

Average weekly family spending in the year ending March 2016

Transport: £72.70

Housing*, fuel and power: £72.50

Recreation and culture: £68

Food and non-alcoholic drinks: 56.80

Restaurants and hotels: £45.10

Miscellaneous goods and services: £39.70

Household goods and services: £35.50

Clothing and footwear: £23.50

Communication: £16

Alcoholic drinks, tobacco and narcotics: £11.40

Health: £7.20

Education: £7

Other items: £73.60

*Excluding mortgage interest payments and council tax but includes rent.