Local living costs: variations in the costs borne by low-income households

This report examines local variations in the costs of housing, council tax, water, electricity, and discretionary charges (such as meals-on-wheels, school meals and home care). The authors:

• identify some substantial differences between the most and least expensive local areas across all the charges;
• assess the levels of continuity or change in terms of the areas which are cheaper or more expensive;
• look at the protection that exists for households on low incomes, and
• review the overall impact of local variations in living costs on different types of low- income household.

The report concludes with a discussion of the policy implications of these findings, and suggestions for future policies either to reduce the large local variations that exist, or to reduce their impact on low-income consumers.