POOR HIT HARDEST BY SOARING INFLATION

Poor are the biggest victims of soaring inflation

THE poorest households have been hit hardest by soaring inflation since last year’s Brexit vote, a report claims.

The increasing cost of imported food is set to push the consumer prices index to a five-year high of three per cent in Office for National Statistics figures out today.

But rising living costs have affected low-income households more than others, a trend seen since the financial crisis erupted in 2007.

The poorest 10 per cent spend 16 per cent of their income on food and drink, compared with 12 per cent for all households and just seven per cent for the richest, according to research by financial firm Tilney. It’s the same for utilities (including gas and electricity) where prices have jumped. They swallow 13 per cent of the income of already hard-up households, compared with seven per cent for all families and four per cent for the wealthiest. According to Tilney, the poorest 10 per cent have seen inflation jump 53.8 per cent in the past 20 years, more than the 50.7 per cent for a typical household. The richest 10 per cent have seen inflation rise an even faster 64 per cent because a surge in house prices has led to bigger mortgage costs. It came as Andrew Bailey, chief executive of the Financial Conduct Authority, warned of a “pronounced” build-up of debt among young people and said they were increasingly having to borrow money to meet basic living costs.