LONDON, March 14 (Xinhua) -- Gin has returned to Britain's official shopping basket, while non-dairy milk, such as soya, rice and oat milk, are being added to the basket for the first time, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said Tuesday.
ONS, the official agency for statistics, compiles a "shopping basket" of items to represent consumer spending patterns each year. In 2017, ONS has added 16 items to the basket, removed 11 and modified eight.
After an absence of 13 years, gin has returned to the basket because its consumption is on the rise, due partly to a sharp growth in the number of small gin producers.
Along with gin, non-dairy milk is seen on the list, which is indicative of the popularity of dairy-free diets, with the launch of the campaigns such as "Veganuary."
Bicycle helmets also returned to the basket after a 12-year absence, following the increasing popularity of cycling, inspired by the successes of British cyclists in the Olympics and the Tour de France.
Children's scooters replaced children's swings to appear in the basket.
Basic mobile phone handsets was removed from the basket, following the rise of smartphones.
Besides listing the goods and services, ONS also updates the weight each item has within the basket to ensure the overall inflation rate reflects households' spending habits as closely as possible.
Senior ONS statistician Phil Gooding said: "The annual basket review enables us to keep up to date with all the latest trends, ensuring our inflation measures reflect the changing costs experienced by consumers."
According to an ONS spokesman, around 180,000 separate price quotations are used currently every month in compiling the indices, covering around 700 representative consumer goods and services. These prices are collected in around 140 locations across Britain and from the internet and over the phones.
Britain introduced its official shopping basket in 1947 as a way of measuring inflation. When the first few lists appeared, food and goods rationing was still in place as Britain underwent the impact of World War II.
