Nightclub charges out, Baileys and Nespresso in: UK CPI figures reflect modern life

Nightclub entry charges will no longer help determine Britain’s inflation rate after the Office for National Statistics removed them from the list it uses to gauge living costs.

“With the number of nightclubs charging entry declining, we can no longer justify keeping these fees in the basket,” said ONS statistician Phil Gooding. In recent years the number of venues in Britain has declined, and some of the remaining ones now offer free admission, the statistics office said. Many Britons are instead sitting in front of their computers while sipping Baileys, if the new inflation basket is to be believed.

Downloadable computer games and software including word processing, antivirus and web design were added to the list alongside cream liqueurs and coffee pods. CD Roms and rewritable DVDs were both removed, “reflecting the change in the computer market away from physical media,” the ONS said. Other additions include nail varnish and women’s leggings, “a type of casual clothing not currently covered but widely purchased.”

The revisions to the price gauge underscore the need to betterreflect technological developments in official statistics, a theme highlighted by former Bank of England deputy governor Charlie Bean last week. Bean, who carried out an official review of statistics said that while digital activity is clearly adding to the economy, it’s not necessarily being picked up by current methodologies.

The ONS reviews its inflation basket each year in order to more accurately reflect the cost of living faced by households. Fourteen items were removed from the list, which comprises 704 goods and services, while fifteen were added.

Bloomberg