'Poorest families on Island could soon be spending half their income on essential items', says Chief Minister

Chief Minister Alf Cannan says the poorest families on the Island could soon be spending half their income on essential items.

In the House of Keys this week he faced a question from Douglas North MHK David Ashford about spending patterns identified by a government survey and how the cost of living crisis is affecting people.

Mr Cannan said the families with the lowest incomes on the Island currently spend around 38 per cent of their money on items such as food and heating, compared to the richest who spend just 24 per cent.

But he added government couldn't predict what those with the least cash would do in the face of rising prices: