Housing takes bigger share of household budgets

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 showed on Monday.

The Office for National Statistics' Family Expenditure Survey, launched in 1957 to gather information of household spending patterns, shows the proportion spent on alcohol has remained unchanged.

Fifty years ago, food and non-alcoholic drinks accounted for one-third of the household budget. That figure has fallen to 15 per cent, while housing is now the single largest item accounting for 19 per cent of spending compared with nine percent in 1957.

Families now allocate on average 143 pounds a week on housing costs, including mortgage interest payments, rent, various charges and maintenance.

"Even though like-for-like comparison over 50 years is not possible, the proportion we spend on food has changed quite sharply. Food and drink have become less significant," said Ed Dunn, project manager of the survey.

In 1957, 20 of the top 50 items purchased were food and beverage items. In 2006, the top 50 included just 10 food and beverage items with only restaurant and cafe meals making it to the top 10.

The survey also found the proportion of the weekly budget spent on heating has halved, along with that spent on clothing and footwear.

LESS TOBACCO, ALCOHOL UNCHANGED

Though the percentage of household spending on tobacco has dropped significantly from 6 percent in 1957 to under one percent in 2006, the percentage spent on alcohol has remained between 3 and 5 percent over the five decades.

Gambling did not feature at all in 1957 but by 2006 had risen to number 33.

Motoring and travel costs, meanwhile, have risen from eight to 16 percent of average weekly household expenditure.

According to the survey based on 7,000 interviews and diaries tracking spending, households spent an average 456 pound a week during 2006.

Families spend 62 pounds a week on transport, more than any other category. Over three-quarters of all households own a car or van and almost a third own two or more, the survey showed.

Recreation and culture was the second-highest category accounting for 58 pounds a week.