Over half (58%) of people were most concerned about energy bills. This compared to 12% who were most concerned about transport and 8% who were most concerned about food and other household essentials..
The spring release of the BEIS Public Attitudes Tracker featured findings from Autumn 2021-Spring 2022. It covered attitudes towards energy in the home, net zero targets, online shopping, switching and consumer problems. This release focuses on energy use in the home. We have also issued a release on switching trends.
Helen Morrissey, senior pensions and retirement analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown:
“Energy costs are the biggest pressure on household budgets with well over half of people worried about how they are going to pay them. Concerns about paying for other essentials such as transport and food are also high but pale in comparison against the challenge of heating our homes. These concerns are well placed, households have already had to absorb an enormous hike in the energy price cap in April and the dread of a potential further £800 hike to come in Autumn is very worrying.
The government has stepped in with a package of measures designed to alleviate the worst of the cost hikes with payments being issued over the coming months. However, these may only prove to bring short term relief with prices likely to continue rising for some time to come. We could see the government coming under further pressure as we approach Winter to offer more support.
Reports are circulating that British consumers are already spending less in a bid to meet their mounting costs and their big worry about energy is that it’s much harder to cut back on than other things. We are seeing more people adopting measures such as washing clothes at lower temperatures or keeping rooms not in use cooler in a bid to manage their costs – these will make a difference but will only go so far. The reality is prices continue to race ahead and people will be left with harder choices about heating their homes as we approach the colder winter months.”
The full BEIS releases are available here: BEIS Public Attitudes Tracker: Spring 2022 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
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