§ Q6. Mr. Eldon Griffithsasked the Prime Minister why the Minister of Labour is charged with tabulating and publishing the Cost of Living Index; and if he will transfer this function to the 612 First Secretary of State and Secretary of State for Economic Affairs.
§ The Prime MinisterBecause the Minister of Labour's local offices collect, and are best able to collect, the mass of detailed information on which the Index is based. The Answer to the second part of the Question is "No, Sir".
§ Mr. Eldon GriffithsWould not it be wiser to have the Secretary of State for Economic Affairs disclose these statistics, as he is mainly responsible for the rapid rise in the cost of living?
§ The Prime MinisterIf the hon. Gentleman is still writing his leader's speeches, I hope that he will do better than that, because I would have thought that most hon. Members agree that while the attempt to get a prices and incomes policy is a tremendously difficult one in a democratic society, and while some right hon. Gentlemen opposite are trying to frustrate it, at any rate my right hon. Friend is making a more dynamic effort to get this thing done than any of his predecessors.