Number of Yorkshire consumers planning to cut spending falls below national average

The Consumer Confidence Tracker surveyed 2,000 UK adults via Censuswide between August 10-12.

The research found that only 23 per cent of Yorkshire & Humber consumers plan to tightly control spending over the next three months, well below the 34 per cent UK average and down from 28 per cent in spring.

It also found that just 26 per cent of Yorkshire households cut back on spending over the last quarter, compared to 40 per cent nationally.

Theresa Lindsay, chief marketing officer at Novuna Finance, said: “Yorkshire households are showing real resilience. While consumers nationally are cutting back, only around a quarter of people here expect to rein in their day-to-day spending, which suggests the region is holding up comparatively well.”

However, 63 per cent of Yorkshire households said they worry that Government policies will leave them worse off.

While 20 per cent expect tax rises to fund policies, just six per cent actually support them and 34 per cent refuse to pay any more income tax.

Ms Lindsay added that the business confidence seen across Yorkshire could be “fragile” when taking into account upcoming political decisions and socioeconomic issues.

She said: “Energy bills are rising again, and the Autumn Budget is adding another layer of uncertainty. A clear majority of people in Yorkshire are worried Government measures could leave them worse off, while support for higher income taxes to pay for them is extremely limited. If households are asked to absorb higher bills and higher taxes at the same time, that could quickly knock confidence and put the brakes on consumer spending across Yorkshire.”

Only 32 per cent of people in Yorkshire said they had cut back on socialising and eating out in the past three months, down from 36 per cent nationally.

Just 21 per cent of people in Yorkshire said they expect their financial situation to get worse in the next three months, compared to 22 per cent nationally.

It comes after the latest Business Barometer from Lloyds found that business confidence in Yorkshire had fallen 15 points in August to 46 per cent, despite many of the region’s firms planning to take on additional staff.

Companies in Yorkshire reported lower confidence in their own trading outlook month-on-month, down eight points at 52 per cent.

When taken alongside their optimism in the economy, down 22 points to 40 per cent, this gave a headline confidence reading of 46 per cent – down from 61 per cent in July.

A net balance of 40 per cent of businesses in the region also expect to increase their staff levels over the next year, down 19 points on last month.