HC Deb 13 June 1921 vol 143 cc50-1W
Mr. G. MURRAY

asked the Prime Minister whether, in view of the great importance attaching to the accuracy of the cost-of-living index figures as affecting sliding scales, determining wages, and the general industrial position, he will appoint a small Standing Committee, composed of consumers and suppliers, under the chairmanship of a Member of this or the other House, who will have power to appoint at least two other Members of this House to assist him, in order to fix from time to time such index figures?

Dr. MACNAMARA

I have been asked to reply. The official figures relating to the cost of living, which are prepared by the Ministry of Labour, are arrived at by means of a careful statistical computation, based on information collected each month from some thousands of shopkeepers distributed throughout the United Kingdom. I am sending my hon. Friend a reprint from the "Labour Gazette" for February last, giving a detailed account of the methods adopted, from which he will see that the regular collection and compilation of these statistics would hardly be an appropriate task for a committee such as he suggests.

Mr. G. MURRAY

asked the Prime Minister whether, in connection with the cost of living index figures, the Board of Trade are responsible for compiling the wholesale figures and the Ministry of Labour for compiling the retail figures and, in view of the fact that rates of wages are being determined on sliding scales by the aid of these figures, will he say which Department is responsible for the figures which are utilised to determine, for example, the remuneration of civil servants and the railwaymen's wages; and will he consider the advisability of having them all compiled by one Department?

Mr. CHAMBERLAIN

The index numbers in relation to which wages have been fixed are based upon the retail price figures compiled by the Ministry of Labour, and not the wholesale price figures compiled by the Board of Trade. This is in particular the case with the bonus to civil servants and the wages of railwaymen. The last part of the question would not therefore arise.