LONDON, Sept. 26 (Xinhua) -- People in London are the biggest spenders in Britain, figures produced Wednesday by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) revealed Wednesday.
It is the first time statisticians at ONS have produced regional figures showing annual spending for things such as food, clothing and leisure.
London had the highest national expenditure per person in 2016, at 32,300 U.S. dollars, mainly driven by the higher housing costs in and around the British capital. The lowest level of spending per person in 2016 was in the West Midlands region of England at 20,102 U.S. dollars.
ONS said it has produced the first set of experimental figures following the increased devolution of powers to local and combined authorities within Britain. The need for statistics to monitor and inform policy at a regional level has also been increasing to an unprecedented level, added ONS.
ONS said in terms of growth in spending for each person between 2015 and 2016, the North East of England had the greatest increase, at 8.1 percent, a growth that was seen across a wide range of goods and services, with the strongest growth seen in the household goods and services, and clothing and footwear categories.
The lowest growth in spending per person between 2015 and 2016 was in Northern Ireland, at negative 0.4 percent, the only country or region to see a fall in spending per person.
The figures also reveal the amount of money households are able to put away as saving after all spending has occurred.
ONS said the savings ratio varies considerably across Britain, with saving in London and the West Midlands being the highest in 2016, at 14.5 percent and 12.8 percent respectively.
The lowest levels of saving in 2016 were seen in the South West England, at 1.5 percent, followed by Northern Ireland and Wales, at 2.5 percent and 2.6 percent respectively, compared with a UK average saving ratio of 6.9 percent.
The average person in Britain spends 2,004 U.S. dollars a year on food and 1,352 U.S. dollars on clothing and footwear.
The average spent by each person across Britain on transport each year is 3,320 U.S. dollars, or 3,284 U.S. dollars in London. The biggest spenders on transport where in the south east of England commuter belt where the average spend is 4,412 U.S. dollars.
When it comes to hotels and restaurants Londoners are the biggest spenders, at more than 2,800 U.S. dollars a year, compared to a British average of 2.364 U.S. dollars.
Said a spokesperson for ONS: "We can clearly see much higher housing costs in London and the South East. We can also see that spending in the South East is generally high across a wide range of commodities, compared with most other parts of the UK."
