§ 1. Mr. J. H. Osbornasked the President of the Board of Trade what was the value and volume of retail sales during November and December, including Christmas, 1966, and during January, including the January sales, 1967, respectively; and how these figures compare with those for November and December. 1965, and January. 1966.
§ Mr. DarlingAs the Answer contains a number of figures, I will, with permission, circulate them in the OFFICIAL REPORT. Figures for January, 1967, are not yet available.
§ Mr. OsbornCan the Government state whether these figures amount to an improvement or a decline on previous years? Would the Minister of State like to comment on them?
§ Mr. DarlingCompared with November and December, 1965, the same two months in 1966 were in value slightly up. The trend for this year shows that retail trade was rising in the early part
| INDEX NUMBERS OF RETAIL SALES PER WEEK—ALL KINDS OF BUSINESS | ||||||
| Value (current prices) | Volume (1961 prices) | |||||
| Index (1961=100) | Change on year earlier | Index (1961=100) | Change on year earlier | |||
| Per cent. | Per cent. | |||||
| November, 1966 | … | … | 132 | +2 | 115 | -1 |
| December, 1966 | … | … | 163 | +3 | 141 | No change |
| Periods covered are:— | ||
| November, 1965 | 4 weeks | 31st October-27th November |
| December, 1965 | 5 weeks | 28th November-1st January |
| November, 1966 | 4 weeks | 30th October-26th November |
| December, 1966 | 5 weeks | 27th November-31st December |