Households cut food spend 7.5% as cost of living bites.

Households in the UK cut their real-terms spending on food and non-alcoholic drinks in the year to March 2023, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) has said.

- ALEX DANIEL

While nominal spending on the category increased over the period, there was a 7.5 per cent real-terms drop when accounting for inflation, making it the area where households made the biggest cutbacks, the agency said.

The figures suggest households were “either consuming less, or where applicable buying lower quality items”, the ONS said. Average weekly household expenditure was £567.70 over the year, a nominal increase of £38.90, or 7 per cent, on the previous 12 months.

However, after accounting for inflation, this was a real-terms decrease of £21.10, or 4 per cent, the agency said. The figures cover the period when households were facing rocketing energy bills and inflation, brought about in part by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.