§ 24. Mr. MITCHESONasked the Minister of Labour whether he will consider an inquiry into the cost of living of the middle classes, having regard to the fact that the fluctuations in the index number of the cost of living are based entirely on the fluctuations of the prices of commodities customarily bought by wage-earners?
Mr. HUDSONIn view of the great practical difficulties which would be encountered in any attempt to collect information as to the standard of living of middle-class families generally, and of the heavy expenditure which would be necessary in order to obtain sufficiently representative statistics, my right hon. Friend is afraid that he cannot at present undertake to institute such an inquiry.
§ 25. Mr. GEORGE GRIFFITHSasked the Minister of Labour whether any articles of food on which the cost-of-living figures are based are of foreign origin; and, if so, what foodstuffs are concerned?
Mr. HUDSONThe particulars of retail prices of food which are collected for the purpose of the cost-of-living figures relate to the average prices of those descriptions, of each commodity, which are usually bought by working-class families, irrespective of the origin of the article concerned, except in the case of beef and mutton, for which separate prices are obtained for home-killed and imported meat, respectively. Particulars are not collected showing the extent to which the prices quoted relate to articles imported from foreign countries.