ONS - Public opinions and social trends, Great Britain: 8 to 19 March 2023

Office for National Statistics sent this bulletin at 24-03-2023 09:31 AM GMT

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Statistical bulletin

24 March 2023

Public opinions and social trends, Great Britain: 8 to 19 March 2023

The following information is based on adults in Great Britain. Estimates in this release are based on data collected between 8 to 19 March 2023 (the "latest period") and 22 February and 5 March 2023 (the "previous period").

Main points

  • When asked about the important issues facing the UK today, the most commonly reported issues continue to be the cost of living (91%), the NHS (84%), the economy (71%), and climate change and the environment (57%).
  • Around a third (36%) of adults who are currently making rent or mortgage payments reported that these payments have gone up in the last six months; an increase of 7 percentage points (29%) from when we first asked this question during the period 3 to 14 November 2021.
  • Around 1 in 4 (24%) adults have had to borrow more money or use more credit in the last month, compared to a year ago. This is an increase from around 1 in 5 (18%) adults when we first asked this question in the period 3 to 14 November 2021.
  • Over half (55%) of adults reported less variety than normal when food shopping, compared with 51% in the previous period and 35% in a similar period a year ago (3 to 13 March 2022); this is the highest percentage since data were first collected in October 2021.
  • Just over 1 in 3 (36%) adults reported that industrial action was an important issue, while 1 in 4 (25%) adults had been affected by industrial action in the past month. Among those affected by industrial action, impacts included spending more money on travel (20%), not being able to travel for holiday or leisure as planned (16%) and being unable to take part in leisure activities (15%).

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