§ Mr. Lubbockasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer by what percentage the cost of living increased between the effective dates of the Pensions (Increase) Acts, 1962 and 1965; and by what percentage it has increased since the 1965 Act.
§ Mr. MacDermotThe effective dates of the Pensions (Increase) Act, 1962, and the Pensions (Increase) Act, 1965, were 1st January, 1963, and 1st January, 1966, respectively. The increase in the cost of living between January, 1963, and January, 1966, as measured by the Index of Retail Prices, was 11.2 per cent.
Between January, 1966, and December, 1966 (the latest available figure) this Index rose by 3.5 per cent.