§ 25. Mr. Adleyasked the Paymaster General how many cheques he authorised for signature last month in his official capacity; and how much they totalled.
§ Mr. GummerAlthough my duties as Paymaster General include the oversight of the handling of payable orders drawn on my Office by Government Departments and others, they do not include the authorisation of cheques for signature.
§ Mr. AdleyIn view of the answer that my hon. Friend gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Ealing, North (Mr. Greenway) earlier, may I, on behalf of many of my constituents, express my thanks to my hon. Friend the Paymaster General, and, through him, the appropriate Ministers, for ensuring that pensions keep ahead of the rate of inflation? I assure him that for most of my constituents living on fixed incomes the control of inflation remains the most important priority.
§ Mr. GummerWhile thanking my hon. Friend for those remarks, may I point out to him—I am sure that he will agree—that it would help a great deal to keep inflation down if people did not push for wage rises above the level of inflation or for wage rises that have not been earned by better productivity?