Living Standards
People on low income less likely to have PCs
Access to selected consumer goods and services: by highest and lowest total weekly household disposable income group, 2001/02, GB
Access to consumer goods and services is one indicator of people’s living standards. For those goods that only became available in the last decade or so there is a strong link with household income. In 2001/02, 86 per cent of households in Great Britain in the highest income group (weekly disposable income of £1,000 or more) had access to a home computer. This was almost six times the proportion of 15 per cent for households in the lowest income group (£100 to £200 per week). The gap was even wider for Internet connections. The proportion for the higher income group (79 per cent) was almost eight times greater than that for the lower income group (10 per cent).
More established goods such as washing machines and central heating, once regarded as luxuries, are now more common across all income groups and household types. However, they are still less likely to be found in lower than in higher income households.
On average, 91 per cent of households had central heating in their homes in 2001/02. However, single pensioner households are the least likely to have central heating, despite being one of the groups most vulnerable to the effects of cold indoor temperatures.
Household car ownership: by income quintile group, 2002, GB
Car ownership is closely related to income, as well as to sex, age, stage of lifecycle and location. In 2002, 59 per cent of households in the lowest income quintile did not have access to a car. This was around seven times the proportion in the top quintile group (8 per cent). High proportions of households without access to a car were found among single pensioners (69 per cent), student households (44 per cent) and lone parents (43 per cent).
For many people, lack of access to a car can cause difficulties in getting to the shops or health services. In 2000/01, 11 per cent of households without access to a car said they had difficulty in accessing their GP. This compares with 4 per cent who had access to a car.
Sources: Family Resources Survey, Department for Work & Pensions
National Travel Survey, Department for Transport
Notes: Equivalised disposable income: income adjusted for household size and composition by means of equivalence scales.
Quintile groups: units are ranked by a given income measure, and then divided into five groups of equal size.
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