By Richard Johnstone | 13 November 2012
Increases in university tuition fees caused inflation to rise last month, with the Consumer Prices Index rising by 0.5 percentage points to 2.7%.
Today’s figures, released by the Office for National Statistics, also reveal that the Retail Prices Index measure for inflation rose from 2.6% in September to 3.2% in October.
From the start of the academic year, tuition fees for English universities have risen from just over £3,000 to a new maximum of £9,000. As a result, education prices rose by 19.1% in October, the highest since CPI records began in 1996.
Prices also rose for food, non-alcoholic beverages and transport but fell for housing, recreation and the service sector.
Recently announced energy price rises were not included in October’s figures, the ONS stated.
However, trade union Unison warned that the rising cost of energy could mean ‘a cold Christmas for millions’.
General secretary Dave Prentis added that the three-year pay freeze had also hit local government workers.
He said: ‘The rise in inflation will come as no surprise to families struggling to pay costly energy and food bills. Christmas should be a time of celebration but many people are dreading the pressure it will put on their finances.
‘There is a very real danger that today’s rise in inflation will tip family budgets over the edge and into the arms of unscrupulous pay-day loan companies.’
The ONS also confirmed today that from next March it will be producing a new version of the CPI inflation measure, which will include owner-occupiers’ housing costs. Currently, only the RPI measure includes home ownership costs, through changes to mortgage interest rates.
However, the new index, which will initially be known as the CPIH, will use rental values as a proxy to measure the costs of owning, living in and maintaining a property.
Increases in university tuition fees caused inflation to rise last month, with the Consumer Prices Index rising by 0.5 percentage points to 2.7%.
Today’s figures, released by the Office for National Statistics, also reveal that the Retail Prices Index measure for inflation rose from 2.6% in September to 3.2% in October.
From the start of the academic year, tuition fees for English universities have risen from just over £3,000 to a new maximum of £9,000. As a result, education prices rose by 19.1% in October, the highest since CPI records began in 1996.
Prices also rose for food, non-alcoholic beverages and transport but fell for housing, recreation and the service sector.
Recently announced energy price rises were not included in October’s figures, the ONS stated.
However, trade union Unison warned that the rising cost of energy could mean ‘a cold Christmas for millions’.
General secretary Dave Prentis added that the three-year pay freeze had also hit local government workers.
He said: ‘The rise in inflation will come as no surprise to families struggling to pay costly energy and food bills. Christmas should be a time of celebration but many people are dreading the pressure it will put on their finances.
‘There is a very real danger that today’s rise in inflation will tip family budgets over the edge and into the arms of unscrupulous pay-day loan companies.’
The ONS also confirmed today that from next March it will be producing a new version of the CPI inflation measure, which will include owner-occupiers’ housing costs. Currently, only the RPI measure includes home ownership costs, through changes to mortgage interest rates.
However, the new index, which will initially be known as the CPIH, will use rental values as a proxy to measure the costs of owning, living in and maintaining a property.
