Household Cost Indices user needs

Overview

The Household Costs Indices (HCIs) measure the change in consumer prices over time for different household groups, based on their actual spending patterns. The HCIs are published as a series of UK-wide price indices and are designed to reflect the lived experience of households, rather than broader macroeconomic trends. 
 
The HCIs focus on how inflation affects households. This is different to more established measures, such as the Consumer Prices Index (CPI) and CPI including owner occupiers’ housing costs (CPIH), which are used for purposes like informing the Bank of England’s interest rate decisions. The HCIs provide a more tailored view of cost pressures faced by different groups, such as renters, mortgage holders, retirees, and families. 

The HCIs are currently an official statistic in development, with nearly two years of regular publication. We are now seeking feedback to ensure the HCIs meet user needs and expectations. 

Why your views matter

We want to understand how you use the HCIs and where improvements could be made, such as to their presentation, frequency or granularity. 
 
Your feedback will inform our publication strategy and help us refine the HCIs to better serve users, especially in the context of ongoing cost-of-living pressures. 
 
This consultation also supports two key goals: 

1. Testing readiness for wider adoption: We want to assess whether the HCI is seen as credible, useful, and distinct enough to support broader use across sectors. 
2. Development opportunity: As the HCIs are still in development, we have flexibility to improve their structure, presentation, and content. Your input will help us ensure the index is fit for purpose. 

How to respond 

To contribute, please complete the online or Word document questionnaire at the bottom of this page. 
 
We welcome contributions from all users of the HCIs, including but not limited to: 

• Academics and researchers 
• Arm's-length or public sector organisations 
• Business, financial or industrial institutions 
• Charity and civil society organisations 
• Community or voluntary groups 
• Interested members of the public 
• International organisations 
• Local authorities and health boards 
• Schools and higher and further education institutions 
• Social enterprises 
• Think tanks and research institutes
• UK and devolved government departments 
• Media and financial intermediaries 

Accessibility 

If you prefer to view the questionnaire and submit your contribution in a Word document format, please download the Word document at the bottom of this page. Please complete and return by email to CPI@ons.gov.uk. If you prefer a different format, or would like to discuss your feedback with us, please email CPI@ons.gov.uk. 

Confidentiality and data protection 

We aim to be as open as possible in our decision-making process. As part of this, we plan to publish an anonymised summary of the responses we receive. We will not publish the personal name of any respondent. Names of individuals, organisations and groups will not be linked to any comments that you give.