Characteristics of sampled households in the Living Costs and Food Survey.

People in Great Britain's experiences of and actions following increases in their costs of living, and how these differed by a range of personal characteristics.

As of 2023, approximately **** million people lived alone in the United Kingdom, an increase of around ****** when compared with the previous year when around **** million people were estimated to be living by themselves.

This statistic shows the estimated minimum outgoings required to live in London, United Kingdom (UK) for six months in 2014. The cost of rent is estimated to be, at its lowest, ***** British pounds over the six month period, with bills at ***** British pounds. It is worth noting that the estimated rent is for a shared property.

In June 2025, 59 percent of households in Great Britain reported that their cost of living had increased in the previous month, compared with 72 percent in April. Although the share of people reporting a cost of living increase has generally been falling since August 2022, when 91 percent of households reported an increase, the most recent figures indicate that the Cost of Living Crisis is still ongoing for many households in the UK. Crisis ligers even as inflation falls Although various factors have been driving the Cost of Living Crisis in Britain, high inflation has undoubtedly been one of the main factors. After several years of relatively low inflation, the CPI inflation rate shot up from 2021 onwards, hitting a high of 11.1 percent in October 2022. In the months since that peak, inflation has fallen to more usual levels, and was 2.5 percent in December 2024, slightly up from 1.7 percent in September. Since June 2023, wages have also started to grow at a faster rate than inflation, albeit after a long period where average wages were falling relative to overall price increases. Economy continues to be the main issue for voters Ahead of the last UK general election, the economy was consistently selected as the main issue for voters for several months. Although the Conservative Party was seen by voters as the best party for handling the economy before October 2022, this perception collapsed following the market's reaction to Liz Truss' mini-budget. Even after changing their leader from Truss to Rishi Sunak, the Conservatives continued to fall in the polls, and would go onto lose the election decisively. Since the election, the economy remains the most important issue in the UK, although it was only slightly ahead of immigration and health as of January 2025.

Background:
A household food consumption and expenditure survey has been conducted each year in Great Britain (excluding Northern Ireland) since 1940. At that time the National Food Survey (NFS) covered a sample drawn solely from urban working-class households, but this was extended to a fully demographically representative sample in 1950. From 1957 onwards the Family Expenditure Survey (FES) provided information on all household expenditure patterns including food expenditure, with the NFS providing more detailed information on food consumption and expenditure. The NFS was extended to cover Northern Ireland from 1996 onwards. In April 2001 these surveys were combined to form the Expenditure and Food Survey (EFS), which completely replaced both series. From January 2008, the EFS became known as the Living Costs and Food (LCF) module of the Integrated Household Survey (IHS). As a consequence of this change, the questionnaire was altered to accommodate the insertion of a core set of questions, common to all of the separate modules which together comprised the IHS. Some of these core questions are simply questions which were previously asked in the same or a similar format on all of the IHS component surveys. For further information on the LCF questionnaire, see Volume A of the LCF 2008 User Guide, held with SN 6385. Further information about the LCF, including links to published reports based on the survey, may be found by searching for 'Living Costs and Food Survey' on the ONS website. Further information on the NFS and Living Costs and Food Module of the IHS can be found by searching for 'Family Food' on the GOV.UK website.

History:
The LCF (then EFS) was the result of more than two years' development work to bring together the FES and NFS; both survey series were well-established and important sources of information for government and the wider community, and had charted changes and patterns in spending and food consumption since the 1950s. Whilst the NFS and FES series are now finished, users should note that previous data from both series are still available from the UK Data Archive, under GNs 33071 (NFS) and 33057 (FES).

Purpose of the LCF
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has overall project management and financial responsibility for the LCF, while the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) sponsors the food data element. As with the FES and NFS, the LCF continues to be primarily used to provide information for the Retail Prices Index, National Accounts estimates of household expenditure, analysis of the effect of taxes and benefits, and trends in nutrition. The results are multi-purpose, however, providing an invaluable supply of economic and social data. The merger of the two surveys also brings benefits for users, as a single survey on food expenditure removes the difficulties of reconciling data from two sources. Design and methodology The design of the LCF is based on the old FES, although the use of new processing software by the data creators has resulted in a dataset which differs from the previous structure. The most significant change in terms of reporting expenditure, however, is the introduction of the European Standard Classification of Individual Consumption by Purpose (COICOP), in place of the codes previously used. An additional level of hierarchy has been developed to improve the mapping to the previous codes. The LCF was conducted on a financial year basis from 2001, then moved to a calendar year basis from January 2006 (to complement the IHS) until 2015-16, when the financial year survey was reinstated at the request of users. Therefore, whilst SN 5688 covers April 2005 - March 2006, SN 5986 covers January-December 2006. Subsequent years cover January-December until 2014. SN 8210 returns to the financial year survey and currently covers April 2015 - March 2016.

Northern Ireland sample
Users should note that, due to funding constraints, from January 2010 the Northern Ireland (NI) sample used for the LCF was reduced to a sample proportionate to the NI population relative to the UK.

Family Food database:
'Family Food' is an annual publication which provides detailed statistical information on purchased quantities, expenditure and nutrient intakes derived from both household and eating out food and drink. Data is collected for a sample of households in the United Kingdom using self-reported diaries of all purchases, including food eaten out, over a two week period. Where possible quantities are recorded in the diaries but otherwise estimated. Energy and nutrient intakes are calculated using standard nutrient composition data for each of some 500 types of food. Current estimates are based on data collected in the Family Food Module of the LCFS. Further information about the LCF food databases can be found on the GOV.UK Family Food Statistics web pages.

Secure Access version
A Secure Access version of the LCF from 2006 onwards is available from the UK Data Archive under SN 7047, subject to stringent access conditions. The Secure Access version includes variables that are not included in the standard End User Licence (EUL) version, including geographical variables with detail below Government Office Region, to postcode level; urban/rural area indicators; other sensitive variables; raw diary information files (derived variables are available in the EUL) and the family expenditure codes files. Users are strongly advised to check whether the EUL version is sufficient for their needs before considering an application for the Secure Access version.

Occupation data for 2021 and 2022 data files
The ONS have identified an issue with the collection of some occupational data in 2021 and 2022 data files in a number of their surveys. While they estimate any impacts will be small overall, this will affect the accuracy of the breakdowns of some detailed (four-digit Standard Occupational Classification (SOC)) occupations, and data derived from them. None of ONS' headline statistics, other than those directly sourced from occupational data, are affected and you can continue to rely on their accuracy. For further information on this issue, please see: https://www.ons.gov.uk/news/statementsandletters/occupationaldatainonssurveys.

Latest edition information:

For the second edition (October 2023), the DEFRA Family Food database has been added to the study.

Living England is a multi-year project which delivers a broad habitat map for the whole of England, created using satellite imagery, field data records and other geospatial data in a machine learning framework. The Living England habitat map shows the extent and distribution of broad habitats across England aligned to the UKBAP classification, providing a valuable insight into our natural capital assets and helping to inform land management decisions. Living England is a project within Natural England, funded by and supports the Defra Natural Capital and Ecosystem Assessment (NCEA) Programme and Environmental Land Management (ELM) Schemes to provide an openly available national map of broad habitats across England.This dataset includes very complex geometry with a large number of features so it has a default viewing distance set to 1:80,000 (City in the map viewer).Process Description:A number of data layers are used to develop a ground dataset of habitat reference data, which are then used to inform a machine-learning model and spatial analyses to generate a map of the likely locations and distributions of habitats across England. The main source data layers underpinning the spatial framework and models are Sentinel-2 and Sentinel-1 satellite data from the ESA Copernicus programme, Lidar from the EA's national Lidar Programme and collected data through the project's national survey programme. Additional datasets informing the approach as detailed below and outlined in the accompanying technical user guide.Datasets used:OS MasterMap® Topography Layer; Geology aka BGS Bedrock Mapping 1:50k; Long Term Monitoring Network; Uplands Inventory; Coastal Dune Geomatics Mapping Ground Truthing; Crop Map of England (RPA) CROME; Lowland Heathland Survey; National Grassland Survey; National Plant Monitoring Scheme; NE field Unit Surveys; Northumberland Border Mires Survey; Sentinel-2 multispectral imagery; Sentinel-1 backscatter imagery; Sentinel-1 single look complex (SLC) imagery; National forest inventory (NFI); Cranfield NATMAP; Agri-Environment HLS Monitoring; Living England desktop validation; Priority Habitat Inventory; Space2 Eye Lens: Ainsdale NNR, State of the Bog Bowland Survey, State of the Bog Dark Peak Condition Survey, State of the Bog Manchester Metropolitan University (MMU) Mountain Hare Habitat Survey Dark Peak, State of the Bog; Moors for the Future Dark Peak Survey; West Pennines Designation NVC Survey; Wetland Annex 1 inventory; Soils-BGS Soil Parent Material; Met Office HadUK gridded climate product; Saltmarsh Extent and Zonation; EA LiDAR DSM & DTM; New Forest Mires Wetland Survey; New Forest Mires Wetland Survey; West Cumbria Mires Survey; England Peat Map Vegetation Surveys; NE protected sites monitoring; ERA5; OS Open Built-up Areas; OS Boundaries dataset; EA IHM (Integrated height model) DTM; OS VectorMap District; EA Coastal Flood Boundary: Extreme Sea Levels; AIMS Spatial Sea Defences; LIDAR Sand Dunes 2022; EA Coastal saltmarsh species surveys; Aerial Photography GB (APGB); NASA SRT (Shuttle Radar Topography Mission) M30; Provisional Agricultural Land Classification; Renewable Energy Planning Database (REPD); Open Street Map 2024.Attribute descriptions: Column Heading Full Name Format Description

SegID SegID Character (100) Unique Living England segment identifier. Format is LEZZZZ_BGZXX_YYYYYYY where Z = release year (2223 for this version), X = BGZ and Y = Unique 7-digit number

Prmry_H Primary_Habitat Date Primary Living England Habitat

Relblty Reliability
Character (12) Reliability Metric Score

Mdl_Hbs Model_Habs Interger List of likely habitats output by the Random Forest model.

Mdl_Prb Model_Probs Double (6,2) List of probabilities for habitats listed in ‘Model_Habs’, calculated by the Random Forest model.

Mixd_Sg Mixed_Segment Character (50) Indication of the likelihood a segment contains a mixture of dominant habitats. Either Unlikely or Probable.

Source Source

Description of how the habitat classification was derived. Options are: Random Forest; Vector OSMM Urban; Vector Classified OS Water; Vector EA saltmarsh; LE saltmarsh & QA; Vector RPA Crome, ALC grades 1-4; Vector LE Bare Ground Analysis; LE QA Adjusted

SorcRsn Source_Reason

Reasoning for habitat class adjustment if ‘Source’ equals ‘LE QA Adjusted’

Shap_Ar Shape_Area

Segment area (m2) Full metadata can be viewed on data.gov.uk.

In the 2 years to March 2023, people in White British and White Irish households had lived in their current home for 15 years on average – longer than all other ethnic groups.

Estimates of how the coronavirus (COVID-19) has impacted income and affordability in Great Britain. Data are from the Survey on Living Conditions (SLC).

In response to the cost of living crisis, the government of the United Kingdom announced a series of measures to help households in the country. The most widespread of these packages was a 400 British pound energy bill grant announced in 2022, which was allocated to all households in the country. The measure with the highest overall value was the cost of living payment, which will saw approximately eight million UK households on low income receive 650 pounds in two separate payments in 2022, and a further 900 pounds paid in three installments throughout the 2023/24 financial year.

Total number of young adults aged 15 to 34 years and total number of young adults aged 20 to 34 years in the UK living with their parents.

In 2019, people from most ethnic minority groups were more likely than White British people to live in the most deprived neighbourhoods.

Update 29-04-2020: The data is now split into two files based on the variable collection frequency (monthly and yearly). Additional variables added: area size in hectares, number of jobs in the area, number of people living in the area.

Context

I have been inspired by Xavier and his work on Barcelona to explore the city of London! 🇬🇧 💂

Content

The datasets is primarily centered around the housing market of London. However, it contains a lot of additional relevant data: - Monthly average house prices - Yearly number of houses - Yearly number of houses sold - Yearly percentage of households that recycle - Yearly life satisfaction - Yearly median salary of the residents of the area - Yearly mean salary of the residents of the area - Monthly number of crimes committed - Yearly number of jobs - Yearly number of people living in the area - Area size in hectares

The data is split by areas of London called boroughs (a flag exists to identify these), but some of the variables have other geographical UK regions for reference (like England, North East, etc.). There have been no changes made to the data except for melting it into a long format from the original tables.

Acknowledgements

The data has been extracted from London Datastore. It is released under UK Open Government License v2 and v3. The underlining datasets can be found here: https://data.london.gov.uk/dataset/uk-house-price-index https://data.london.gov.uk/dataset/number-and-density-of-dwellings-by-borough https://data.london.gov.uk/dataset/subjective-personal-well-being-borough https://data.london.gov.uk/dataset/household-waste-recycling-rates-borough https://data.london.gov.uk/dataset/earnings-place-residence-borough https://data.london.gov.uk/dataset/recorded_crime_summary https://data.london.gov.uk/dataset/jobs-and-job-density-borough https://data.london.gov.uk/dataset/ons-mid-year-population-estimates-custom-age-tables

Cover photo by Frans Ruiter from Unsplash

Inspiration

The dataset lends itself for extensive exploratory data analysis. It could also be a great supervised learning regression problem to predict house price changes of different boroughs over time.