§ 25. Mr. Gardnerasked the Minister of Labour what changes he proposes to make in the methods of obtaining the information on which the Retail Price Index is based.
§ Mr. GunterThe methods used for obtaining information are kept under review and changed when necessary, but I have no changes in mind at the present time.
§ Mr. GardnerIs the Minister aware that the figures given in the Index of Retail Prices are increasingly treated with scepticism?
§ Mr. SpeakerOrder. The hon. Member must speak up.
§ Mr. GardnerIn view of the rapidly changing position in shopping and retail distribution, does he not think that some more sophisticated methods are needed? Has he consulted the Social Survey on this?
§ Mr. GunterYes, and there is a continuing review of this taking place examining how statistics are arrived at. I am not entirely happy at the weighting given to certain elements in the Retail Price Index. I am giving more details, in answer to a later Question, of the criticisms in the Consumer Council magazine, "Focus" which had something to say about this some months ago.