According to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), British households cut their real spending on food and non-alcoholic beverages in the year to March 2023.

While nominal spending in this category rose over the same period, there was a real decline of 7.5 percent when inflation was taken into account, making this the area where households had to make the biggest cuts, the agency said.

The figures suggest that households “either consumed less or, where appropriate, bought goods of lower quality,” the ONS said.

Average weekly household spending over the year was £567.70, a nominal increase of £38.90 or 7% over the previous 12 months.

However, after taking inflation into account, this was a real decline of £21.10, or 4 percent, the agency said.

The figures cover the period when households faced skyrocketing energy bills and high inflation, partly caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Kevin Brown, savings specialist at Scottish Friendly, described the figures as “eye-opening”.

He said of the economic situation at the time: “These were events and rising costs that families had no control over other than what they prioritized and where they made cuts where possible.”

“Over time, the cost of living crisis was renamed the ‘squeeze’. More than a year after the ONS data was recorded, many family budgets are still affected by this crisis.”

The data also revealed the gap in spending between the wealthiest and poorest households in Britain.

Weekly spending by the richest fifth of households was more than double that of the poorest fifth of households in the financial year to March 2023, at £857.30 and £356.90 respectively, the ONS said.

The average household continued to spend the majority of its weekly budget on housing, heating and electricity.

Spending on this category rose 18 percent in nominal terms but fell 2 percent in inflation-adjusted terms, suggesting that people tried to save despite sharp price increases.

While all households saw a nominal increase in energy prices, the poorest fifth of households were hit hardest at 49%, or £11.40, while the richest fifth of households saw an increase of 42%, or £12.50.

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This represents a real decline of 18%, or £7.40, for the poorest fifth of households and 21%, or £11.10, for the richest fifth.

The ONS said in its data release that the figures suggest that poorer households “are less able to offset increased energy prices by reducing consumption or switching tariffs and are therefore likely to be more vulnerable to rising energy prices”.

Of the average spending of £567.70, £105.70 per week went into the “housing, fuel and electricity” category, which includes rent, energy and water bills and maintenance costs.