Changes to the consumer price inflation basket

Consumer price inflation is the rate at which the prices of goods and services bought by households rise or fall. Imagine a large "shopping basket" containing those goods and services. As the prices of the items change, so does the total cost of the basket. Movements in consumer price indices represent this change.

Within each calendar year, the basket contents are fixed so that changes reflect only changes in prices, and not variations in the quality and quantity of items purchased.

However, the basket contents and associated expenditure weights are updated annually. This is important to avoid potential biases that might otherwise develop, for example, because of the development of new goods and services. These procedures also help to ensure that the indices reflect longer-term trends in consumer spending.

In 2026, 27 items have been added to the Consumer Prices Index including owner occupiers' housing costs (CPIH) basket and 19 items have been removed, resulting in a total of 760 items.

Additions include houmous, alcohol-free beer, pet grooming, motorhomes and dashboard cameras.

Removals include sheets of wrapping paper, and bottled premium lager bought in pubs and restaurants.

For full details of the changes read the Office for National Statistics press release here.