Internet Usage Continues To Spread

The percentage of people using the Internet continues to increase quarter in quarter. the figures from the ONS for Q1 2012 however suggest that 8.12m or 16.1% of adults have still never used the Internet but that is 1% down on Q4 2011 and 7% down on Q1 2011. As many as 42.16m or 83.7% of adults have now used the Internet at some time and that includes 86.1% of men and 81.3% of women. Over 3m non-users are from the over 75 age group (41.2% of non-users). Non-users are also from the disabled and lower income groups. Those most likely to have used the Internet include those earning over £500/week with nearly 99% and those over £1000/week at nearly 100%. The South East is the region with the biggest rate of users at 86.9%, then London with 86.5%. N.Ireland recorded the lowest percentage of Internet use with 75.1%. All regions have nevertheless shown an increase in Internet use over the year from Q1 2011 to Q1 2012.

Inflation Down To 4.2%

The latest bulletin from the ONS on consumer inflation says that annual inflation has fallen to 4.2% in June 2011 from 4.5% in May. The government target is 2%. Recreaton and culture provided the main downward pressure for the decrease. In particular games, toys and hobbies were the main contributor along with pressure from audio visual equipment price discounting. Upward pressure came from a variety of food products.

The CPI fell by 0.1% between May and June 2011 due mainly to downward pressure from recreation and culture particularly computer games, photographic equipment, data processing equipment, recording equipment and books and also from clothing and footwear as some summer sales began in women's fashion. Upward pressure came from food and drink mainly bread and cereals, meat and milk, cheese and eggs. Mineral waters, soft drinks and juices helped to offset the increase. The RPI stands at 5% in June.

CPI Inflation Falls To 3.2% In June

Headline CPI inflation for June 2010 was 3.2%, down from 3.4% in May and stood at 114.6 (2005=100). The main contributors to the fall in the annual CPI were undoubtedly falling petrol and diesel prices and it was also helped by a record fall in June sales prices for clothing and footwear. Upward pressure on inflation came mainly from rises in air fares and increased insurance premiums.

The CPI rose 0.1% between May and June 2010 but the changes are within the normal range for that period. The main causes of the monthly changes were increases in the prices of computer games ands consoles within the recreation and culture category, increased European and long-haul air fares and a record increase for May to June of 5.7% in transport insurance premiums. The downward pressure from clothing and footwear of a 2.1% fall in prices was due mainly to women's outerwear.

The all-items RPI and the RPIX (RPI excluding mortgage payments) increased by 5% from 5.1% in May. The RPIY (excluding mortgage payments and indirect taxes) increased by 3.8%.

CPI Sharp Rise To 3.7%

The CPI rose from 3.4% in the year to March 2010 to 3.7% this month. It was 3% in February. The largest upward contribution came from clothing and footwear within which the largest effect was made by women's garments. Other significant contributions came from food and non-alcoholic beverages, in particular food but no one item within the food category, alcoholic beverages and tobacco (2.1%), miscellaneous goods and services (0.8%) and restaurants and hotels.

The RPI rose by 5.3% in the year to April up from 4.4% in the year to March 2010. Tne RPIX rose by 5.4% from 4.8% in March.

Internet Access Reaches 70% Of Homes

Internet access has reached 18.31 million homes. It represents 70% of households and an increase of 1.85m households since 2008. Of all households 63% or 16.5 million have a broadband connection, up from 56% in 2008. It represents 90% of all Internet access. The youngest group (16-24) had the highest level of access at 96% but the largest growing group is the oldest group (65+) with a 15% increase compared with a 3% increase with the youngest group. More men than women have accessed the Internet in the last three months.

The proportion of daily Internet access users was 73%. The youngest, with 86%, accessed the Internet the most, every day or almost every day. The oldest group use it the least, with 52% using it every day. The most popular uses are e-mail but social networking is growing with 40% of users posting messages and so on. There were also increases in audio-visual uses, web radio and web television. Internet phone calls are also now popular.

Purchasing over the Internet is a growing phenomenon with 64% having purchased online at some time and 83% within the last three months. Men buy films and music, women buy clothes or sporting goods as well as food and groceries. Youger people buy clothes and sporting goods and older people buy books, magazines, newspapers and e-learning materials.