Most Britons worried about soaring cost of living: ONS survey

More than three-quarters of adults in Great Britain worry about the rising cost of living, Office for National Statistics (ONS) said today (10) citing its recent survey, which also states that almost half Britons are reining spending on food and other essentials.

In a survey by ONS, 77 percent of people over the age of 16 reported feeling “very or somewhat worried about the rising cost of living”. Of these respondents, 50 percent said they worried “nearly every day”.

A separate ONS survey of the same group shows how people have changed their behaviour in response, with 52 percent saying they were using less fuel such as gas and electricity at home after major cost increases, and almost half having controlled spending on food and reduced non-essential travel in order to help their finances.

The figures, which reflect the month to May 22, revealed most people have reduced spending to deal with soaring costs. Nearly two in three people reported cutting back on non-essentials and two in five said they spent less on food.

The second poll found that the proportion of households spending less on food shopping and essentials had jumped to 41 percent, from 36 percent in the previous fortnight, while the proportion of those buying fewer items from food shops increased to 46 percent from 44 percent.

“Adults who reported feeling very worried about the rising costs of living in the two weeks before interview also reported worse scores on a wide range of wellbeing measures, when compared with those who said they were not at all worried,” said ONS.

The survey results come as petrol prices in the country are touching sky-high figures with a record one-day jump seen earlier this week.

Figures from data firm Experian Catalist show the average price of a litre of petrol at UK forecourts reached a record 182.3p on Wednesday (8). The average price of a litre of diesel was 188.1p, meaning to fill up a tank of diesel would set a driver back £103.43.