1. Main points
The following information is for the latest survey period 22 March to 2 April 2023, based on adults in Great Britain.
When asked about the important issues facing the UK today, the most commonly reported issues continue to be the cost of living (92%), the NHS (87%), the economy (77%), and climate change and the environment (61%).
Around three-quarters (76%) of adults reported their cost of living had increased compared with a month ago (70% in the previous period from 8 to 19 March 2023).
The most common reasons reported by adults who said their cost of living had increased compared with a month ago were an increase in the price of food shopping (96%), an increase in gas or electricity bills (73%), and an increase in the price of fuel (41%).
Around a quarter (27%) of adults had been affected by industrial action in the last month; the most reported impacts were dependent children unable to attend school (27%), not being able to attend school, college or university (17%), and being unable to take part in leisure activities (16%).
Around 3 in 10 (30%) of adults were considering making changes in their homes to improve energy efficiency; this was 25% when we last asked the question between 8 to 19 June 2022.
The most common actions considered included improving insulation in the home (51%), switching energy suppliers (21%), and installing solar panels (20%).
Around a third (35%) of adults reported that cost was a barrier stopping them from improving energy efficiency in the home, and around 1 in 7 (15%) said that making energy efficiency improvements would not give them value for money.
This release has been published as a headline bulletin because of the Good Friday bank holiday. The next Public opinions and social trends bulletin, covering the period 5 April to 16 April 2023, will be published on 21 April 2023.
3. Measuring the data
This release contains data and indicators from a module being undertaken through the Office for National Statistics' (ONS') Opinions and Lifestyle Survey (OPN).
Breakdowns by age and sex, including confidence intervals for the estimates, are contained in our Public opinions and social trends, Great Britain datasets.
Where changes in results from previous weeks are presented in this bulletin, or comparisons between estimates are made, associated confidence intervals should be used to assess the statistical significance of the differences.
Sampling and weighting
In the latest period (22 March to 2 April 2023), we sampled 4,973 households. This sample was randomly selected from people who had previously completed the Labour Market Survey (LMS) or OPN. The responding sample for the latest period contained 2,663 individuals, representing a 54% response rate.
Survey weights were applied to make estimates representative of the population (based on ONS population estimates). Further information on the survey design and quality can be found in our Opinions and Lifestyle Survey Quality and Methodology Information (QMI).
Back to table of contents5. Cite this statistical bulletin
Office for National Statistics (ONS), released 6 April 2023, ONS website, statistical bulletin, Public opinions and social trends, Great Britain: 22 March to 2 April 2023
Contact details for this Statistical bulletin
policy.evidence.analysis@ons.gov.uk
Telephone: +44 30 0067 1543