Downturn fails to stem amount spent on alcohol

Spending on alcohol has failed to drop amid the economic slowdown, official figures showed today.

The Office for National Statistics said that the amount of alcohol duty paid by households has "changed little in recent years despite the recession".

Today's figures also show that spending on alcohol by the bottom fifth of earners has risen most over the past 15 years. They now spend 56 per cent more in real terms on alcohol duty than in 1995.

The biggest spenders of all, less surprisingly, are the highest earners, although the amount they devote to alcohol has risen only slightly over the same period and accounts for a smaller proportion of their income.

The statisticians say that the average amount of alcohol duty paid by households now stands at £309, around five per cent higher than 15 years ago.