Vast orders! North west tops booze spend league
PEOPLE in the north west are the biggest spenders in the UK when it comes to alcohol.
The latest figures on family spending from the Office for National Statistics show how households in different parts of the country are spending their money.
Families in the north west are the biggest spenders on alcoholic drinks, based on the proportion of their average weekly outgoings.
Households in the region spend an average of £9.50 a week on these items, 80p more than the average spend for families across the UK.
They also spend an average of £4.80 a week on wine at home, compared to £4.40 nationally, and £2.80 on beer, lager and cider, compared to £2.30.
They also spent £1 on baby toiletries and accessories (disposable), compared to 60p nationally.
In the north west, the average weekly household spend was £521.10 in the period from April 2017 to March 2019.
That included an average of £73.90 on transport, £68.20 on recreation and culture, and £56.40 on food and non-alcoholic drinks.
Across the UK, transport, housing and recreation and culture made up the biggest chunk of household spending, together accounting for 44 per cent of the total. Average weekly household spending in the UK was £585.60 in 2018/19, a similar level to two years ago (£582.40), after adjusting for inflation.
Average weekly spending rose by 9.1pc between 2012 and 2018/19, with recreation and culture accounting for the largest share of this increase, up from £66.20 to £76.90 a week, followed by household goods and services and transport.
How well off households are has an impact on how much of their money they spend on different priorities.
Spending on food and housing make up 42pc of total expenditure for households in the bottom 10pc of the income distribution, compared with 26pc for those in the richest 10pc.
Households in the top 10pc spend five times as much on recreation and culture than those in the bottom decile and proportionately more of their total spending is in this category – 14pc compared with 10pc.