National statistics

Family Resources Survey: financial year 2022 to 2023

Updated 26 March 2024

Results from the Family Resources Survey (FRS) for the financial year 2022 to 2023, providing information on income and circumstances of UK households.

The FRS is a continuous household survey which collects information on a representative sample of private households in the United Kingdom.

Detailed information is recorded on each respondent:

• their incomes, from all sources including self employment
• housing tenure
• caring needs and responsibilities
• disability
• expenditure on housing
• education
• pension participation
• childcare, family circumstances and child maintenance
• household food security and food bank usage

1. Main stories

This report summarises the key findings from the Family Resources Survey for the financial year 2022 to 2023. The data in this report are from interviews conducted between April 2022 and March 2023.

The FRS 2022 to 2023 Background Information and Methodology document, available alongside this publication, sets out several points to note in relation to this release.

The FRS achieved sample this year was just over 25,000 households. This marked a return to the number expected in a normal survey year (‘normal’ being around 20,000 households).

During 2022 to 2023, the FRS sought to return to pre-pandemic fieldwork practices. Whilst fieldwork operations during 2022 to 2023 were not identical to those pre-pandemic, they were much closer to it than in the two preceding years, 2020 to 2021 or 2021 to 2022.

There remain areas where users are advised to exercise caution: When using data from the 2021 to 2022 and 2020 to 2021 survey years, and especially when comparing these years to other survey years. More details on how the results for the 2021 to 2022 and 2020 to 2021 survey years were affected by the pandemic, can be found in the FRS 2021 to 2022 Background Information and Methodology document.

We are seeking user feedback on this report, in terms of: the presentation of the statistics; the handling of the uncertainty with these statistics; and the guidance we have provided on interpretation. Please send comments to our email: team.frs@dwp.gov.uk

Income and State Support

Income from employment and self-employment made up 74p of every £1 of household income.

Tenure

The percentage of households in the private and social rented sector combined has remained broadly the same over the last six years at 36%.

Disability

In 2022 to 2023, 24% of people were disabled. A higher proportion of females than males were disabled, 13 in every 50 females compared with 11 in every 50 males.

Care

Eight in every 100 people are providing informal care to someone else, with ten per cent of these caring for more than one person. Five in every 100 people are in receipt of care every week, with 41% of these receiving care continuously.

Pension Participation

The percentage of employees participating in a pension scheme decreased slightly in 2022 to 2023, in comparison to the previous year. However, it has increased substantially since the introduction of automatic enrolment for employees, which was in the 2012 to 2013 survey year.

Savings and Investments

The proportion of families (benefit units) with no savings was 20%. A further 28% of families had less than £1,500 in savings.

Self-employment

The median net earnings for self-employed people working full time were 21% lower than that of full-time employees. The gap between part-time self-employed workers and part-time employees was larger at 24%.

Household Food Security

The proportion of food-secure households has decreased this year.

A greater proportion of households used a food bank this year, with 1.4% of all households using a food bank within the last 30 days and 3.3% using a food bank within the last 12 months.

Childcare

Of all families with children, 53% reported using some form of childcare in the seven days prior to interview. This includes breakfast clubs and after-school clubs and similar provision, as well as nurseries and similar care for young children.

2. What you need to know

The primary purpose of the FRS is to provide the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) with data to inform the development, monitoring and evaluation of social welfare policy.

The survey is used by many other government departments and is used for tax and benefit policy modelling by HM Treasury and HM Revenue and Customs. The FRS is also used extensively by academics and research institutes for social and economic research.

For further contextual information on the statistics presented, as well as detailed information about FRS methodology, see the Background Information and Methodology available alongside this publication.

Other FRS-based publications

The FRS provides the underlying data for four other DWP Official and Accredited Official Statistics reports:

• Households Below Average Income
• Pensioners’ Incomes
• Income-Related Benefits: Estimates of Take-up
• Separated families statistics

Additional tables and data

A comprehensive set of detailed tables complementing the results presented are available alongside this publication. These tables are referenced throughout this report.

An anonymised version of the FRS dataset is available to download via the UK Data Archive.

Households, benefit units and individuals

Results in this report, depending on the context, are presented at:

• household level
• family or benefit unit level
• individual level

Household level definition

One person living alone, or a group of people (not necessarily related) living at the same address, who share cooking facilities and share a living room, sitting room or dining area. A household will consist of one or more families and benefit units.

Family or benefit unit level definition

A single adult, or a couple living as married, and any dependent children.

3. Income and state support

Families (benefit units) by income received from state support, 2022 to 2023, United Kingdom

The percentage of families receiving state support decreased to 52%.

The proportion of UK families receiving state support has decreased since the previous year. This year, it is estimated at 52%, with estimates for the previous two years being 53% in 2021 to 2022 and 53% in 2020 to 2021. State support includes all state benefits, including the State Pension and Child Benefit.

Twenty-three per cent of UK families received less than £10,000 per year from state support, which is equivalent to 8.2 million families. Twenty-one per cent of families received between £10,000 and less than £20,000 annually from state support, which equates to 7.4 million families. Eight per cent of families received £20,000 or more per year from state support, which is equivalent to 2.7 million families.

See tables 2.14a and 2.14b for full data.

Receipt of state support by age of head of family, 2022 to 2023, United Kingdom

The percentage of families receiving state support varied by age of family head and type of benefit.

For working-age families, the age group with the highest percentage of state support receipt was those with a head aged 35 to 44 years (54%). This is likely to be associated with the high proportion of such households (44%) who received Child Benefit. Nearly every family where the head was aged 65 and over received some form of state support; almost all of this group were receiving State Pension (as the qualifying age for this is 66).

Across all families, 20% received income-related benefits. For working-age families where the head of the family was aged 35 to 44 years the percentage receiving income-related benefits was 25%, the highest of all working-age groups. When the head of the family was in age groups 75 to 84, or 85 and over, 22% and 23% respectively received income-related benefits.

See table 2.11 for full data.

Percentage of total gross household income from earnings by region, 2022 to 2023, United Kingdom

London had a higher proportion of income from employment than other regions.

Across the UK as a whole, income from employment accounted for 74% of gross household income. There were substantial regional variations: London had the highest proportion of income from employment at 84% and Wales the lowest at 64%.

Conversely, the North East had the highest proportion of income from state support at 20% whilst London had the lowest proportion (9%).

The highest proportion of income from non-state pensions was 10% in both the South West and North East; whilst the lowest proportion was in London (4%).

These regional differences are likely to be associated with the demographic and economic variations between regions.

See tables 2.2a and 2.2b for full data.

Sources of total gross household income, FYE 2013 to FYE 2023, United Kingdom

The proportion of income from each different source has been stable over the past decade.

The proportion of income from employment remained the same as last year at 74%; the equivalent figure in 2012 to 2013 was 71%.

The proportion of income from state support remained at 15% in 2022 to 2023. From 2012 to 2013 to 2022 to 2023, the proportion of income from state support has been fairly stable.

The proportion of income from non-state pensions was the same (8%) as in every year since 2012 to 2013, apart from in 2020 to 2021 when it was nine per cent.

The proportion of income from other sources remained at 3%, after remaining at 5% from 2014 to 2015 to 2019 to 2020, then falling by one percentage point in 2021 to 2021 and again in 2021 to 2022. These sources include grants, rental (landlord) incomes, and income from investments.

See table 2.1 for full data.

4. Tenure

Households by tenure, FYE 2013 to FYE 2023, United Kingdom

The percentage of households by tenure has remained broadly the same in the past 4 years.

Median household weekly mortgage payment by region, 2022 to 2023, United Kingdom

Repayment mortgage instalments varied greatly by region.

The region with the highest median payment on repayment mortgages was London, which at £255 per week was £95 above the median for the UK.

In contrast, the North East had the lowest median repayment at £118 per week which was £42 below the median for the UK. The difference in median repayment between London and the North East was £137 per week.

Median household weekly social rent payment by region, 2022 to 2023, United Kingdom

Social sector rents for all regions, except London and the South East, were within £13 per week of the UK median social sector rent.

The median social sector rent was highest in London, at £132 per week, which was £35 greater than the median rent for the UK. The lowest median social sector rent was seen in Yorkshire and the Humber at £84 per week, which was £13 lower than the median social sector rent for the UK.

Median household weekly private rent payment by region, 2022 to 2023, United Kingdom

Private sector rents were much higher in London compared to all other regions.

The median private sector rent for London was almost triple the equivalent figure for the North East; in London it was £301 per week which was £140 above the UK median. In the North East the median private sector rent was £115 per week which was £46 below the UK median.

Median private sector rents were greater than median social sector rents for all regions. These differences may be partly due to social sector rents being controlled by government-set formulae. Differences may also be associated with the private rented sector having a more varied range of housing stock in comparison with the social rented sector.

See table 3.8 for full data.

Tenure type by age of head of household, FYE 2013 and FYE 2023, United Kingdom

In the past ten years, households with a head aged over 35 have seen a shift towards private sector renting.

For all age categories, excluding 25 to 34, the proportion of private sector renting in 2022 to 2023 was greater than or equal to the proportion in 2012 to 2013. The largest increase was five percentage points for households where the head was aged 45 to 54 years, increasing from 12% to 17% between 2012 to 2013 and 2022 to 2023.

The percentage of households that owned outright has been stable for most age groups over the past decade. The largest changes were where the head of the household was aged 65 and over, increasing by 4 percentage points.

The decade between 2012 to 2013 and 2022 to 2023 has seen a decrease in the proportion of households buying with a mortgage for all groups except those with a head of household aged 16 to 34. The largest decline was 4 percentage points where the head of the household was aged 45 to 54 years to 46% in 2022 to 2023.

For younger working-age households, there has been a decrease in social renting over the past decade. For older working-age households, there has been an increase in social renting for those aged 45 to 54 and 55 to 64 over the same period. The largest decrease in social renting was in the 16 to 24 age group, declining by 6 percentage points in the period between 2012 to 2013 and 2022 to 2023.

See table 3.7 for full data.

Households by tenure and receipt of income-related benefits, 2022 to 2023, United Kingdom

Twenty-three per cent of all households in the UK receive some form of income-related benefit. For social sector renters, 70% received one or more income-related benefits. This is over three times higher than for all households.

Thirty-four per cent of households in the social renting sector received Housing Benefit and 48% received Council Tax Reduction. This will have contributed to the considerably larger proportion of households in the social renting sector who received income-related benefits.

See table 3.5 for full data.

5. Disability

Note that none of the FRS disability estimates are age-standardised (in contrast to some other sources, and the Census release).

Disability prevalence by age group, FYE 2013 to FYE 2023, United Kingdom

Almost one in four people were classified as disabled.

The number of disabled people rose from 12.2 million (19%) in 2012 to 2013 to 16.1 million (24%) in the most recent survey year, an increase of 3.9 million people.

There was an increase of four percentage points in the percentage of disabled children, from 7% in 2012 to 2013 to 11% in the most recent survey year. For working-age adults, the proportion of disabled people rose from 16% in 2012 to 2013 to 23% in the most recent survey year, an increase of seven percentage points.

The proportion of disabled State Pension age adults has been between 42% and 46% in every year of the past decade.

The term “disability” follows the core definition of disability in the Equality Act 2010 which states that a person is considered to have a disability if they have a physical or mental impairment that has ‘substantial’ and ‘long term’ negative effects on their ability to do normal daily activities. See the Background Information and Methodology section for more details.

See tables 4.1, 4.2a and 4.2b for full data.

Disability prevalence by gender, FYE 2013 to FYE 2023, United Kingdom

The proportion of both males and females with a disability has increased.

The percentage of females who were disabled increased from 21% (6.6 million) in 2012 to 2013 to 26% (8.8 million) in 2022 to 2023. Over the same period, the percentage of males who were disabled rose from 18% (5.5 million) to 22% (7.2 million).

For those aged 14 years and younger, there was a higher proportion of disabled males than disabled females in 2022 to 2023, this is consistent with 2021 to 2022. More generally, there was a higher proportion of disabled females than disabled males for those in all other age groups.

See tables 4.2a, 4.2b and 4.3b for full data.

Disability prevalence by region and country, 2022 to 2023, United Kingdom

The percentage of disabled people varied by region and country.

The North East had the highest proportion of disabled people with 31%, seven percentage points above the UK average.

London had the lowest percentage of disabled people with 15%, nine percentage points below the average for the UK. London and the South East were the only regions to fall below the average for England.

The varying demographics in each region and country could partly explain the differences in the prevalence of people classified as disabled. For example, disability prevalence may correlate with the percentage of the population who are State Pension age adults in a particular region or country, noting that the prevalence of people classified as disabled is almost twice as high for this age group in comparison to those of working age (23%).

See tables 4.1 and 4.4 for full data.

Impairment types reported by disabled people, by age group, 2022 to 2023, United Kingdom

Impairment types reported by disabled people varied by age group.

For disabled children, the most common impairment type was social or behavioural impairments, with half reporting this. This was followed by a learning impairment, at 32% then a mental health impairment, at 30%.

For disabled working-age adults, 47% reported a mental health impairment, the most prevalent category among this age group. This was closely followed by a mobility impairment, at 41%. The third most likely impairment type was to do with stamina, breathing or fatigue, at 34%.

The most common impairment type reported among disabled State Pension age adults was a mobility impairment, with 69% reporting this. The second most likely impairment type was a stamina, breathing or fatigue impairment and the third was a dexterity impairment, at 46% and 33% respectively.

See table 4.6 for full data.

6. Care

The FRS questionnaire asks if people are caring for others on an informal basis (that is, where caring is not a paid job; this contrasts with formal care, which comes from paid help, such as the local authority, district nursing or private domestic help). Examples of care include helping with shopping, preparing meals, and feeding, and household chores.

Note that the Family Resources Survey is designed to be representative of all private households in the United Kingdom. Therefore, FRS results only aim to describe inferences about private households, and not the entire UK population. Some individuals, such as those in care homes, are not included.

Percentage of people providing informal care by age and gender, 2022 to 2023, United Kingdom

Those aged 55 to 64 years were most likely to be carers.

In 2022 to 2023, 8% of people in the UK were informal carers, a one percentage point increase from the rate in 2021 to 2022. Females continue to be more likely to be informal carers (9%), compared to males (6%). In total, 3.1 million females and 2.0 million males were informal carers.

Across age groups, people aged between 55 and 64 were most likely to be informal carers (16%). In this age group, 13% of males and 20% of females were informal carers.

See tables 5.1a, 5.1b and 5.2 for full data.

People cared for by informal carers and sandwich carers, 2022 to 2023, United Kingdom

Family members were the main recipients of informal care.

The main recipients of informal care were parents. Of all informal carers, 33% cared for parents living outside their household and 8% cared for parents living inside their household. Outside the household, parents were by far the most likely type of person to be cared for.

When providing informal care to those living inside their household, carers were most likely to care for a partner (spouse, civil partner or cohabitee) or their child (son or daughter), with 21% of informal carers caring for a partner, and 18% caring for their child.

Of all informal carers, 51% provided care to someone living inside their household and 52% provided care to someone living outside their household. Overall, 10% cared for more than one person, with 3% caring both for somebody living inside their household and for somebody else living outside their household.

Sixteen per cent of informal carers were classified as ‘sandwich carers’. A sandwich carer refers to people aged 16 to 70 who:

• care for a child within their household or have a child dependent on them within their household; and
• care for an adult relative.

See tables 5.7a and 5.7b for full data.

Adult informal carers by employment status and gender, 2022 to 2023, United Kingdom

Nearly half of adult male informal carers were in full-time employment.

Of all adult informal carers in employment, 50% were in employment with 34% working full-time. Male carers were more likely than female carers to be working full-time: The proportion of male carers working full-time was 45% in comparison with 27% for females. In contrast, female carers were more likely to work part-time (21% of women compared with nine per cent of men).

Of adult informal carers, 22% were retired and 25% were economically inactive. The economically inactive include those who are students, those looking after a family or home, those permanently or temporarily sick or disabled and those inactive due to other reasons. Those unemployed (that is, seeking work) formed a very small minority of all adult informal carers, at 2%.

See table 5.4 for full data.

Adult informal carers by gender and hours caring, 2022 to 2023, United Kingdom

Half of adult informal carers provided care for up to 19 hours per week.

Of all adult informal carers, at least half provided care for up to 19 hours per week with 20% providing care for less than 5 hours per week, and 31% providing care for between 5 and 19 hours per week. Around a third of adult informal carers provided care for at least 35 or more hours of care per week: Eight per cent were providing care for between 35 and 49 hours per week, 15% providing care for 50 or more hours per week, and 14% providing care for a varying number of hours per week but 35 at minimum.

See table 5.3 for full data.

Percentage of people receiving care at least once a week, by age and gender, 2022 to 2023, United Kingdom

The likelihood of receiving care varied by age and gender.

The proportion of people receiving care every week has been stable in recent years, at around 5%. The likelihood of receiving care every week increased with age from age group 25 to 34, with 27% of people aged 85 and over receiving care every week.

In all age groups from age 65 upwards, females were more likely than males to receive care every week. This is most clearly visible for the 85 and over age group in which 29% of females and 23% of males received care every week. In contrast, males are more likely to receive care every week than females at ages 24 and below.

See table 5.8 for full data.

Recipients of care at least once a week by frequency of care, 2022 to 2023, United Kingdom

Forty-one per cent of those receiving care every week received continuous help.

Of those receiving any form of care every week (paid or informal), 41% received continuous care. Of those remaining, it was more common to receive care daily than to receive care on another, less frequent basis. Of those receiving care every week,17% received care several times a week and 7% received care once a week.

There was a strong relationship between the frequency of care received and the age of the recipient. Of those receiving care every week, children up to the age of 15 were more likely to receive continuous care than any other age group, with 68% receiving care continuously. Adults aged 75 to 84 were the least likely to receive continuous care every week, with 31% receiving care continuously, but were most likely to receive care several times a week (22%).

See table 5.9 for full data.

7. Pension Participation

Pension scheme participation of working-age adults by employment status, FYE 2013 to FYE 2023, United Kingdom

Pension scheme participation increased substantially following the introduction of automatic enrolment for employees in 2012.

Over the past decade, scheme participation among all those of working age has increased every year in comparison to the previous year, with the exception of 2021 to 2022. It has risen by 20 percentage points since 2012 to 2013.

Scheme participation among all those who are employed has seen growth almost every year over the past decade with the exception of 2021 to 2022 and 2022 to 2023. It has risen from 45% in the financial year ending 2013 to 71% in the financial year ending 2023, an increase of 26 percentage points.

This increase has followed the introduction of automatic enrolment. Automatic enrolment was introduced in 2012, and the full, nationwide rollout was completed in April 2019. The eligibility criteria for automatic enrolment are that an employee has to be aged between 22 and State Pension Age, earn at least £10,000 annually and usually work in the United Kingdom. These criteria influence the observed differences in participation rates by age group.

Employee-pension scheme participation rates increased from 49% in the financial year ending 2013 to 80% in the financial year ending 2021. Participation rates have decreased by one percentage point in each of the last two survey years.

The self-employed are not eligible for automatic enrolment. Over the past decade, the participation rate of the self-employed has been fairly stable, at between 16% and 20%.

See table 6.5 for full data.

Pension scheme participation for working-age adults by pension type and gender, 2022 to 2023, United Kingdom

Pension participation rates were lower for women than men.

In the survey year 2022 to 2023, the overall pension scheme participation rate was slightly lower for working-age women than working-age men.

Fifty-six per cent of working-age men were contributing to any type of pension compared to 52% of working-age women.

For employer-sponsored pensions, participation rates were one percentage point higher for men than women among working-age adults (51% and 50% respectively).

For individual pensions (personal pensions, including stakeholder pensions), participation rates were higher among working-age men than working-age women (7% and 4% respectively).

Some working-age adults participated in both types of pension scheme. 

See table 6.1 for full data.

Pension scheme participation of adults by age and economic status, 2022 to 2023, United Kingdom 

The percentage of adults participating in a pension scheme varied by age and economic status.

Rates of pension scheme participation were high amongst adults aged 25 to 54 (62% to 63%). In contrast, 27% of adults aged 16 to 24 participated in a pension scheme.

Of all employees, rates of pension scheme participation were highest amongst those aged 35 to 59 (82% to 83%).

Of all self-employed, rates of pension scheme participation were highest amongst those aged 45 to 54, at 26%.

See table 6.2 for full data.

8. Savings and Investment

Levels of savings for families in 2022 to 2023, United Kingdom

In 2022 to 2023:

• the proportion of families (benefit units) with no savings was 20% in 2022 to 2023
• a further 28% of families had less than £1,500 in savings.

The group most likely to have no savings or investments was single working-age adults. Among single working-age adults without children, 32% of males and 27% of females reported either no savings or investments, this is an increase from the previous year. Lone parents were most likely to have less than £1,500 in savings: 45% reported this level of savings and a further 36% reported no savings.

Pensioner couples had higher levels of savings and investments than other kinds of families. Forty-four per cent of pensioner couples had savings and investments of £30,000 or more, compared to the UK average of 18%.

See table 7.10 for full data.

Banks accounts and ISAs

Ninety-three per cent of UK households reported having a current account.

Among households, current accounts were least common in the North West, the East Midlands, and Scotland, where 90% of households had a current account. The East Midlands along with the North West was also the region where households were most likely to report having no type of account.

Most adults reported having a current account: In most age groups, between 90% and 92% of adults reported having a current account, this is a decrease from 2021 to 2022. The exceptions were for the youngest and oldest age groups. For 16 to 24 year olds, 83% reported having a current account and for those aged 85 and over, 88% reported having a current account.

Among families, single males without children were most likely to report having no accounts. Fourteen per cent of this group reported having no accounts compared with eight per cent of UK families.

Lone parents (11%) were the least likely family type to have an Individual Savings Account (ISA). Pensioner couples were most likely to hold an ISA, with 42% doing so.

See tables 7.1, 7.5 and 7.7 for full data.

Holdings of stocks and shares, and premium bonds

A minority of adults said that they held stocks and shares (10%).

For those aged between 25 and 34, five per cent held stocks and shares and this rose to 15% for those over 65. Men were also more likely to invest in this way than women.

A minority of adults said they held Premium Bonds (13%). As with other assets, the percentage holding them increased with age, with the exception of those in the over 85 age group. For those aged 25 to 34, five per cent of adults said that they held Premium Bonds. This rose to 25% for those aged 65 to 74 and was 27% among those aged 75 to 84.

See table 7.7 for full data.

9. Self Employment

Details on how the FRS handled incomes from the Self Employment Income Support Scheme (SEISS), and the interaction to profits reported during the period that SEISS payments were made are included in the Background Information and Methodology document for the Family Resources Survey financial year 2020 to 2021.

Self employment by age group, FYE 2013 to FYE 2023, United Kingdom

Overall, the number of self-employed people rose from 3.8 million in 2012 to 2013 to 4.1 million in 2022 to 2023. This is still below the numbers reported in 2019 to 2020, which were 4.3 million. The number of working-age self-employed people increased by 0.1 million between 2021 to 2022 and 2022 to 2023, to 3.6 million. The number of self-employed individuals of State Pension age also increased by 0.1 million, to 0.5 million in 2022 to 2023.

See table 8.4b for full data.

Median net earnings of working-age employees and the self-employed, by part-time and full-time, FYE 2013 to FYE 2023, United Kingdom (2022 to 2023 prices)

Median self-employed earnings continue to be lower than those of employees.

Median net employee earnings remain above those of self-employed individuals which is consistent with the trend of the previous decade. Median net earnings for full-time employees were £25,500 in the 2022 to 2023 financial year while for the full-time self-employed they were £20,100.

Median net earnings for the part-time employed were 31% higher than those of the part-time self-employed, where the median annual figure was £8,700.

The annual median net earnings for the full-time self-employed increased by £1000 between 2021 to 2022 and 2022 to 2023. Part-time self-employed workers’ earnings decreased over the same time by 16 per cent.

See table 8.2a for full data.

Median net earnings of the self-employed, by gender and by part-time and full-time, FYE 2013 to FYE 2023, United Kingdom (2022 to 2023 prices)

Among the full-time self-employed, median net earnings for men have been consistently higher than those of women.

Median net earnings for full-time self-employed men remained higher than full-time self-employed women in 2022 to 2023; for men who worked full-time, median net earnings were £20,800 a year; significantly higher than the £14,200 of full-time women. This represents a larger earnings gap than in the 2021 to 2022 survey year.

Part-time workers’ earnings decreased for both men and women, with part-time women earning approximately the same as their male counterparts.

See table 8.5 for full data.

Percentage of self-employed working full-time and part-time by gender and age group, 2022 to 2023, United Kingdom

Self-employed men were more likely to work full-time than self-employed women.

Of all self-employed men, around 4 out of 5 were working full-time (79%). For self-employed women the proportions who were full-time and part-time were evenly split.

For those of State Pension age, part-time working is slightly more common. Working-age adults were more likely to work full-time.

See table 8.1 for full data.

10. Household Food Security

Introduction

The household food security question block was added to the FRS in the 2019 to 2020 survey year. These questions measure whether households have sufficient food to facilitate an active and healthy lifestyle.

In the survey year 2021 to 2022, the FRS asked further questions on food bank usage.

Food banks can be visited by those who have difficulty purchasing food to avoid hunger. A referral is usually required before using most food banks. These referrals could be from Citizens Advice, a GP, housing association or social worker. Food banks can provide other support, such as financial advice or mental health support, but the FRS records “usage” as visits to a food bank for the purpose of getting emergency food supplies only. The FRS does not collect data on the number of visits that respondents make; for households that report using a food bank, the FRS records that a food bank has been used at least once, but further information on the number of visits cannot be inferred.

Questions about household food security and food bank usage are asked of the person in the household who knows the most about buying and preparing food. These survey estimates therefore relate to the household as a whole, not to individuals within the household, nor single benefit units within multi-family households.

In common with the rest of the FRS, the household food security block of questions asks about the time period immediately before the interview (30 days). For household food bank usage, questions ask about two separate time periods:

• usage within the 30 days before the interview, as with household food security
• usage within the 12 months before the interview

Only households that report using a food bank in the last 12 months are then asked about 30-day usage.

Caution is needed when comparing household food security status with 12-month food bank usage. The effect of household food security upon food bank usage, cannot be fully deduced because the former only asks about the household’s circumstances in the last 30 days.

There is no standard form of question for either household food security or food bank usage. The questions used by the FRS are similar to those used by other public bodies in the UK, and also internationally, but there are some differences. Further information on the approach and alternative sources is available in the Background Information and Methodology.

These statistics should be treated with caution when interpreting them:

• where a household is food insecure, information about the individual experiences of food insecurity within the household is not available. A young child’s experiences in a food insecure household may be very different from their parents’ experiences, for example
• household food security statistics do not directly measure hunger. They instead explore the financial situation of households and how that affects their access to food
• caution should be taken with both measures of household food bank usage captured in the FRS, when comparing with other sources, as these may use different time periods

Household food security status of all households, FYE 2020 to FYE 2023, United Kingdom

The proportion of food-secure households has decreased.

The proportion of food-secure households decreased from 92% in 2019 to 2020, to 90% in 2022 to 2023, a decrease of two percentage points. This is the lowest proportion of food-secure households since the introduction of household food security to the FRS in 2019 to 2020. In previous survey years, the proportion of food-secure households has been broadly stable.

Despite a decrease in household food security this survey year, the majority of households are still food secure with high household food security (83%) or marginal household food security (7%). Food-insecure households are still in the minority, with low household food security (5%) or very low household food security (5%).

Geographically, there were differences in household food security. Northern Ireland was the most food secure (86% high, 5% marginal), Scotland was least food secure (82% high, 6% marginal).

Between the regions in England, there was greater variation in food security:

• households in the North West (79% high, 8% marginal) were the least likely to be food secure
• households in the South West (85% high, 7% marginal), South East (87% high, 5% marginal) and East (86% high, 6% marginal), were equally most likely to be food secure

See tables 9.1 and 9.2 for full data.

Household food bank usage, FYE 2022 to FYE 2023, United Kingdom

A greater proportion of households used a food bank this year.

The proportion of households that used a food bank within the last 12 months has remained broadly stable, with there being an increase of 0.3 percentage points, from 3.0% in 2021 to 2022 to 3.3% in 2022 to 2023. The proportion of households that used a food bank within the last 30 days increased by 0.5 percentage points, from 0.9% in 2021 to 2022 to 1.4% in 2022 to 2023.

See table 9.11 for full data.

Household food bank usage, 2022 to 2023, United Kingdom

Household food bank usage varies with geographic location.

Geographically, there were differences in household food bank usage. Households in Wales were most likely to have used a food bank overall (2% within last 30 days; 4% within last 12 months). Usage in Northern Ireland, Scotland and England was the same for both measures (1% within last 30 days; 3% within last 12 months).

Within England, rates in northern regions were higher than southern regions:

• households in the South East, South West, East, Outer London and West Midlands were equally the least likely to have used a food bank (1% within the last 30 days; 3% within last 12 months)
• households in the North West and, Yorkshire and the Humber were equally the most likely to have used a food bank, with Yorkshire and the Humber having a higher proportion of households using a food bank within the last 30 days (3% within the last 30 days; 4% within last 12 months) and the North West having a higher proportion of households using a food bank within last 12 months (2% within the last 30 days, 5% within last 12 months)

There were also differences in household food bank usage by the Rural Urban Classification of the household’s locality (noting that classifications differ between Scotland, Northern Ireland and England & Wales):

• in England and Wales, households in Urban areas were more likely to have used a food bank when compared with Rural areas. Within Urban areas, households in Urban Conurbations were the most likely to have used a food bank (2% within last 30 days; 4% within last 12 months)

• in Scotland, households in Urban areas were most likely to have used a food bank (1% within last 30 days; 4% within last 12 months) when compared with Small Towns, and Rural areas
• in Northern Ireland, households in Other Urban areas were most likely to have used a food bank within the previous 12 months, when compared with Belfast City and Rural areas (2%)

See tables 9.13 and 9.21 for full data.

Household food bank usage by household food security status, 2022 to 2023, United Kingdom

Food-insecure households are more likely to use food banks.

Household food bank usage is more likely as a household becomes less food secure:

• for high food security households, a negligible proportion used a food bank within the last 30 days, and 1% within the last 12 months.
• but for very low food security households, 14% used a food bank within the last 30 days, and 31% within the last 12 months

See table 9.12 for full data.

Household food security status and food bank usage by total gross weekly income, 2022 to 2023, United Kingdom

As income increases, households are more likely to be food secure.

Higher-income households were also less likely to have used a food bank.

• households with gross weekly incomes of less than £200 per week were the least likely to be food secure (72% high; 9% marginal), and the most likely to have used a food bank (4% within last 30 days; 8% within last 12 months)
• households with gross weekly incomes of £1,000 or more per week were the most likely to be food secure (93% high; 4% marginal), and equally the least likely, with households from £800 but less than £1000, to have used a food bank (negligible proportion within last 30 days; 1% within last 12 months)

See tables 9.8 and 9.19 for full data.

Household food security status and food bank usage by state support receipt, 2022 to 2023, United Kingdom

Household food insecurity and food bank usage rates were greater for households in receipt of income-related benefits, than overall.

Households on any income-related benefit were more likely to be food insecure (12% low; 18% very low) compared with all households (5% low; 5% very low). Similarly, food bank usage was more likely for those on any income-related benefit (5% within last 30 days; 12% within last 12 months), compared with all households (1% within last 30 days; 3% within last 12 months).

Of households in receipt of state support more widely:

• households receiving Income Support were the least likely to be food secure, at 58%, whilst also having the highest proportion with very low household food security (29%)
• households receiving Universal Credit had the lowest proportion with high household food security (42%)
• households receiving Universal Credit were more likely to use a food bank (8% within last 30 days; 19% within last 12 months) than UK households overall

See tables 9.7 and 9.18 for full data.

Household food security status and food bank usage by age group of head, 2022 to 2023, United Kingdom

Households with a younger head were the most likely to be food insecure.

Food bank use was also more prevalent in households with younger heads.

Households where the head is aged 25 to 64 have similar levels of food security. The proportion of food-secure households is greater where the head is aged 65 and above. Households where the head is aged 25 to 64 have similar levels of food bank usage. In general, household food bank usage decreases as the age of the head increases.

• households where the head is aged 16 to 24 were the least likely to be food secure (70% high; 9% marginal), and were most likely to have used a food bank (4% within last 30 days; 7% within last 12 months)
• households where the head was aged 85 and over, and households 75 to 84, were equally the most likely to be food secure, at 98%,
• households where the head was aged 85 and over were the least likely to have used a food bank (none within last 30 days; and a negligible proportion within last 12 months)

See tables 9.4 and 9.15 for full data.

Household food security status and food bank usage by tenure and age group, 2022 to 2023, United Kingdom

Households in the social renting sector were most likely to be food insecure and to have used a food bank.

Food bank usage varied by tenure; households in the social renting sector were more likely to have used a food bank (5% within last 30 days; 12% within last 12 months) than private renters (2% within last 30 days; 5% within last 12 months) and all owned households (negligible proportions within last 30 days; 1% within last 12 months).

For households in the social renting sector, the likelihood of using a food bank increased for households with a working-age head (7% within last 30 days; 16% within last 12 months). For private renting households and owned households, there was no difference.

See tables 9.9 and 9.20 for full data.

Household food security status and food bank usage by household composition, 2022 to 2023, United Kingdom

Households with children were more likely to be food insecure and to have used a food bank than households without children.

Households with children were more likely to be food insecure (7% low; 8% very low) compared with households without children (4% low; 4% very low). Similarly, food bank usage was more likely for households with children (2% within last 30 days; 5% within last 12 months), compared with households without children (1% within last 30 days; 3% within last 12 months).

Of all households by composition:

• households with one adult and three or more children were the least likely to be food secure (57%)
• eight per cent of households with one adult and three or more children used a food bank within the last 30 days, and 22% within last 12 months, compared with 1% and 3%, respectively, for UK households overall

Households with one or more disabled adults were more likely to be food insecure and to have used a food bank.

Households with one or more disabled adults were more likely to be food insecure (7% low, 10% very low) compared with households with no disabled adults (3% low; 2% very low). Similarly, households with one or more disabled adults were more likely to use food banks (2% within last 30 days; 6% within last 12 months), compared with households without disabled adults (1% within last 30 days; 2% within 12 last months).

See tables 9.3, 9.5, 9.14 and 9.16 for full data.

11. Childcare

The FRS has asked questions on childcare for several years. The questions are put to people with children under 16, and focus on the seven days prior to the interview. The FRS collects information on childcare for each child separately; and then on which kind of childcare provider is used for that child. This is because one child can use several different types of childcare.

The statistics in this chapter refer to both “formal” and “informal” childcare. This means they encompass all types of care including playgroups, nurseries, breakfast clubs and after-school clubs, childminders, nannies and au pairs, as well as relatives and friends who look after the child or children.

As set out elsewhere in this publication, the term “benefit unit” refers to a family grouping that would be used to assess benefit entitlement. It should be noted that ‘benefit unit’ is used throughout the FRS report as a description of groups of individuals regardless of whether they are in receipt of state support or not. It is defined as ‘a single adult or couple living as married or cohabiting and any dependent children.’ As elsewhere in this report, the terms “family” and “benefit unit” are used interchangeably.

Childcare is defined as care provided for a child aged up to 16 years old, and where they are of school age, outside of core educational hours (school lessons).

Further details on the definitions and categories of childcare used in the FRS questionnaire are available in the Background Information and Methodology. Customised statistics and direct comparisons to previous years’ data can be made using Stat-Xplore.

Families with children and using childcare by type of childcare provider used, 2022 to 2023, United Kingdom

The proportion of families with children using formal childcare only was higher than those using informal childcare only.

Of all families with children, 53% reported using a form of childcare. These families were then asked about their use of formal and informal childcare. Formal childcare was more prevalent; 48% used formal childcare only, compared with 23% who used informal childcare only. Twenty-nine per cent of families with children who use childcare were using both formal and informal childcare.

See table 10.1 for full data.

Families with children and using childcare by region and type of childcare provider used, 2022 to 2023, United Kingdom

Among families using childcare, there were regional differences in the type used.

Nationally, childcare use varied by region. Families in Scotland and Northern Ireland reported lower use of formal childcare (65% and 67% respectively) than families in England and Wales (79% and 77% respectively). Conversely, informal childcare use was lower in England (50%) and Wales (51%) when compared with Scotland (66%) and Northern Ireland (67%).

Within England, childcare-using families in London, the South East, the East and West Midlands all made greater use of formal childcare than other regions. Conversely, childcare-using families in the East Midlands and North East were more likely to use informal childcare.

See table 10.6 for full data.

Children for whom childcare is used, by child’s age and type of childcare, 2022 to 2023, United Kingdom

Among children using childcare, the mix of childcare type varied by age group.

Among children for whom childcare was used:

• of children aged 3 to 5 years old, and not attending school, 90% used some kind of formal childcare, with 43% using informal childcare
• this contrasts with children in the youngest and oldest age groups, which show a much more even split between formal and informal provider types
• for children of school age, and where formal childcare was used, after-school clubs were the most-used type (used by 45% of 4 to 11-year-olds and 47% of 12 to 16-year-olds)
• in contrast, for pre-school children, daycare was by far the most-used type of formal childcare.

Where informal childcare was used, a material proportion of all age groups were using family members as a care provider. They were used most by children under 2 years old (66%) and the least by children aged 3 to 5 years old, and not attending school (41%).

See table 10.3 for full data.

12. About these statistics

These accredited official statistics were independently reviewed by the Office for Statistics Regulation in 2011 and were then confirmed as National Statistics by the Office for Statistics Regulation (OSR) in November 2012. National Statistics are accredited official statistics. They comply with the standards of trustworthiness, quality and value in the Code of Practice for Statistics and should now be labelled ‘accredited official statistics’. Accredited official statistics are called National Statistics in the Statistics and Registration Service Act 2007.

It is DWP’s responsibility to maintain compliance with the standards expected of accredited official statistics. If DWP becomes concerned about whether these statistics are still meeting the appropriate standards, we will discuss any concerns with the Office for Statistics Regulation. Accredited official statistics status can be removed at any point when the highest standards are not maintained, and reinstated when standards are restored.

Read further information about accredited official statistics.

DWP considers that all Family Resources Survey statistics in this publication are “Fully Comparable at level A” of the UK Countries Comparability Scale across countries.

Other official and accredited official statistics

Read about other DWP statistics.

DWP announce the release dates of Official and Accedited Official Statistics, in accordance with the Code.

Status and development

Since this latest review by the Office for Statistics Regulation, we have continued to comply with the Code of Practice for Statistics, and have made a number of improvements which are described in the Background Information and Methodology section.

For the 2022 to 2023 survey year we have also made these improvements:

• new information on childcare is presented (in table form) in this publication; the underlying FRS dataset has contained data on childcare for several years
• the “Cost of Living payments” made to households during the 2022 to 2023 financial year have been added to breakdowns where income is included
• development work to improve reporting on categories of level of Education identified an issue with the variable EDUCQUAL 
• Rural-Urban classifications used to in the Household Food Bank usage tables were updated to Census 2011 classifications
• addition of new total savings categories to Savings and Investments chapter
• in addition, FRS statistics continue to be available via the Stat-Xplore online tool. Stat-Xplore can be used to create bespoke tables and statistics, across a very wide range of FRS variables. Several years of data, going back to the 2002 to 2003 survey year, have been released; this year’s data has now been added.

13. Using the FRS for analysis

The Family Resources Survey is designed to be representative of all private households in the United Kingdom. Some individuals are not included, for example, students in halls of residence or residents of nursing homes.

There remain areas where users are advised to exercise caution: When using data from the 2021 to 2022 and 2020 to 2021 survey years, and especially when comparing these years to other survey years. More details on how the results for the 2021 to 2022 and 2020 to 2021 survey years were affected by the pandemic, can be found in the FRS 2021 to 2022 Background Information and Methodology document.

Sample design and size

The Family Resources Survey uses a stratified, clustered, random sample. This is designed to produce robust regional estimates. The data is not suitable for analysis below regional level.

The achieved sample in the 2022 to 2023 survey year was just over 25,000 households. This is an increase from 16,000 achieved in survey year 2021 to 2022 and a return towards the number expected in a normal survey year (around 20,000 households).

Sampling error

Results from surveys are estimates and not precise figures. In general terms, the smaller the sample size, the greater the uncertainty of the estimates. Results in this report are subject to a margin of error which can affect how changes should be interpreted, especially between groups and in the short term.

Non-sampling error

Non-sampling errors are systematic inaccuracies in the sample when compared with the population. For example, people may give inaccurate responses, or certain groups of people may be less likely to respond.

Non-sampling error is minimised in the Family Resources Survey through effective and accurate sample and questionnaire design, active fieldwork management, the use of skilled and experienced interviewers and extensive quality assurance of the data.

However, it is not possible to eliminate non-sampling error completely, nor can it be easily quantified. Relative to administrative records, the Family Resources Survey is known to under-report benefit receipt.

Where to find out more

Further outputs and tables, together with:

• a detailed Background Information and Methodology document including a description of methodology, definitions, general guidance and alternative data sources, as well as further detail on the reliability of estimates; and
• a release strategy document detailing future developments to do with the FRS can be accessed from the Family Resources Survey home page.

Other relevant material includes:

• A guide to the different definitions of earnings and income, with information on alternative sources of data, is available.

• A guide to contrasting income and earnings statistics to help identify the most appropriate statistic, describing the source data, output data and availability, the concept being measured, its main strengths, limitations and uses.

If you would like more information on these statistics, then please visit the income and earnings interactive tool where you can filter by government department and country of interest to find relevant statistics.

Lead Statistician: M A Vaughan

ISBN: 978-1-78659-629-1