§ 33. Captain Pilkingtonasked the Minister of Labour what changes he intends to make in the present reckoning of the cost-of-living index.
§ Mr. WatkinsonThe method of calculating the Interim Index of Retail Prices was revised early in 1952, on the basis of recommendations made by the Cost of Living Advisory Committee. This Committee also recommended that a comprehensive inquiry into household expenditure should be undertaken in order to provide information to serve for an up-to-date weighting basis for a more permanent index. This inquiry was carried out over a period of 12 months ending early in 1954. The many thousands of household budgets obtained in the course of this inquiry are now being summarised, and I hope that during the latter part of this year it may be possible, with the help of the Cost of Living Advisory Committee, to carry out a further revision of the existing index on the basis of this information.