The Week Junior - UK (2022-03-19)

T

he Office for National Statistics (ONS) has updated

its “basket of goods”, which is used to calculate

(work out) the rate of inflation. This comes as

many families in the UK face much higher prices for

essential things like electricity, gas and food.

What is inflation?

Inflation is when prices rise. It affects people because

their money becomes less valuable. For example, if

the price of sweets goes up but your pocket money

stays the same, you won’t be able to buy as many

sweets as before.

What is the “basket of goods”?

To work out how much prices have risen, the ONS

looks at 700 goods and services. This is known as

the “basket of goods”, and it represents

what the average UK family spends

their money on. The basket of goods

changes each year, depending on

what people are buying.

What’s changed?

Doughnuts and encyclopedias have

been replaced by multipacks of cakes

and vegetarian sausages. Antibacterial

wipes and pet collars have also been added.

This reflects what happened during the pandemic,

when lots of people bought pets. Men’s suits have

been removed because more people than before the

pandemic are now working from home. Campaigner

Jack Monroe has asked the ONS to include more

essential supermarket products that are

bought by people on low incomes.

Why are prices rising?

In December 2021, inflation in the

UK reached its highest level in 30

years. This was partly because food

and energy prices went up. It’s costing

energy companies more to buy gas, and

shops are paying more to transport goods.

The cost of food and energy is expected to rise

again because of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The

Resolution Foundation has warned that the cost of

living could rise by 10% for the poorest families this

autumn. People have said the Government should do

more to help people cope with these price rises.

The Week Junior • 19 March 2022

WORD WEEK

OF

THE

There is something special about

feeling the Sun’s warmth.

Centuries ago, there was a

word for appreciating the

sunshine and basking in

its warmth: “apricate”. The

word comes from the

Latin apricus, which means

“exposed to the Sun”.

APRICATE

THIS WEEK IN HISTORY

Harry Houdini was born as Erik Weisz in Budapest,

Hungary, and grew up in the US. After becoming a

professional magician he began dazzling audiences

around the world with daring escape acts and feats

of endurance, such as jumping off bridges while

handcuffed and being submerged upside down by

his ankles in a tank of water. His dangerous stunts

usually involved clever tricks. Houdini died on

Halloween in 1926 from appendicitis, aged 52.

24 March 1874

Escape artist Harry Houdini was born

The basket of goods reflects

changes in people’s tastes. The

first basket, in 1947, contained

corned beef, rabbit and cinema

and football tickets. Fish fingers

and crisps were added in 1962,

and chicken nuggets were first

included in 2005. Computer

games were added in 1993 and

smartphones in 2011.

Basket over the years

Jack Monroe

Harry

Houdini

UK news

4

IN OUT

UK’s shopping habits change

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