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Takeaway chicken and iPads are in, step ladders and colour film are out: Changes to the inflation basket of goods that give a snapshot of how we live

By Lee Boyce

Published: 07:26 EST, 13 March 2012 | Updated: 08:06 EST, 13 March 2012



Tablet computers, teenage fiction and a takeaway meal of chicken and chips are in, step ladders and colour film are out.

That's the snaphot of how we live provided by the basket of goods and services used to calculate inflation - altered and confirmed by the Office for National Statistics today.

The rise of gadget technology continues apace with tablet computers, such as Apple iPads and Samsung Galaxy Tabs reflecting a 'significant and growing' market, the ONS said.

The popularity of teenage fiction, helped by Stephanie Meyer's series of Twilight novels, is also reflected and books aimed at adolescents, as opposed to adults or children, get their own entry for the first time. Fried chicken: The takeaway food has been added to the basket of goods used to measure CPI and RPI

Developing and printing colour film has been ditched from the baskets due to the rising popularity of digital cameras.

Other items to be removed from the list include candy coated chocolate, bags of boiled sweets and step ladders.


The CPI and RPI rates of inflation are calculated using 180,000 price quotations every month, covering 700 goods and services from 150 areas across the UK.

Food snobs might be disappointed to hear that takeaway meals of chicken and chips have also been added to the basket, in line with a proliferation of stores in town centres across the country selling the cheap dinner option.

In its annual revision of the basket of goods and services used to compile the consumer prices index and retail prices index - and therefore inflation rates - the ONS introduces new items and throws out others to reflect accurately modern British spending habits.

Elsewhere, bundled communication packages comprising of telephone, internet and television are also included for the first time. The three services were already in the basket separately, but the bundle reflects the way in which consumers are increasingly buying these services.

Other items added to the list include cans of stout, such as Guinness, which has been included to widen the coverage of beers in the basket, along with pineapples and hot oat cereals.

In addition, vehicle excise duty, television licence fees and trade union subscriptions, which are currently only used to calculate the RPI, will also be used in the CPI. The figures also note how a greater variety of goods are being bought from supermarkets. These items include a variety of toys and
games, (including board games, model vehicles, dolls and soft toys, and some personal effects, namely umbrellas, handbags and costume jewellery.

The ONS said: 'As in most years, developments in technology influence the basket update and in 2012 tablet computers are being included for the first time.

'This mirrors the evolution of computer equipment through desktop personal computers, laptops and now tablets, and they are being introduced to capture price changes in this rapidly expanding market.'


Inflation dropped from 4.2 per cent to 3.6 per cent in January - the second 0.6 point fall in two months - as the rise in VAT a year ago was no longer reflected in annual price comparisons.

The sharp falls occurred in the main because the rise in value added tax (VAT), from 17.5 per cent to 20 per cent, that was introduced a year ago is now no longer reflected in the year-on-year comparison of prices.

Alongside a fall in the official consumer price index CPI measure of inflation, the ONS also confirmed that the RPI - which still dictates some changes in wages, taxes and benefits - fell to 3.9 per cent from 4.8 per cent in December.

However, CPI remains well above the Bank of England's stated target of within a percentage point of 2 per cent.


ONS rings changes to the inflation basket: takeaway chicken and iPads in, step ladders and colour film out

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