WELSH FAMILIES AMONG WORST OFF IN UK - WILLOTT

12.00.00am GMT Thu 14th Jan 2010

Today, the Office of National Statistics released the annual Family Spending report, which reveals that households in Wales, have the lowest levels of disposable income anywhere in the UK bar the North East of England.

The figures, contained in the report, show that the average Welsh household:

· Has £474 weekly disposable income, £70 lower than the UK average and the second lowest in the UK behind only the North East (£449).

· Spends £406.70 a week, £53 lower than the UK average and the second lowest in the UK behind only the North East (£386.10).

· Spends 12.3% of their disposable income on recreation & culture, more than any other households in the UK (average of 10.5%).

Commenting, Jenny Willott, Welsh Liberal Democrat MP for Cardiff Central, said:

"Despite more than decade of a Labour government, Wales remains one of the poorest parts of the UK.

"It is little wonder that Welsh families have been hit harder than most by the recession when they have £70 a week less to spend than the UK.

"The fact that households in Wales spend the highest proportion of their income on recreation may be an indication of the high levels of worklessness that still blight parts of Wales."