§ 3. Sir C. Osborneasked the Lord Privy Seal if he will ask the United Nations to publish a yearly estimate of the income per capita of all its members in a common currency, so that comparisons between their standards of living may be readily available; and if he will make a statement.
§ The Minister of State for Foreign Affairs (Mr. J. B. Godber)While sympathising with my hon. Friend's desire to simplify such comparisons. I fear that such a table could be misleading if based simply on exchange rates; while to make calculations for all the different factors involved would be either arbitrary or extremely complicated.
§ Sir C. OsborneI recognise the limitations. May I ask what is the estimated income per capita, say, of this country, of Indian and of Pakistan; and, if they were average, what sort of average, or what would be the sacrifice which the people of this country would have to make in order to make freedom from hunger a reality?
§ Mr. GodberI can give only an approximate answer. But I should say that for the United Kingdom something like £400 per annum and for India and Pakistan about £20. The average would 358 come out between £50 and £60. This would show the big difference that is pointed out by my hon. Friend.