§ 103. Mr. Osborneasked the Minister of Labour the estimated proportion of the weekly wage earner's income that is spent on food, clothes and rent, respectively.
§ Sir W. MoncktonThe information asked for by my hon. Friend can only be obtained by means of a comprehensive inquiry covering household expenditure and income. Following the recommendation of the Cost of Living Advisory Committee, an inquiry of this kind is being started within a few weeks.
For the purpose of the Interim Index of Retail Prices, the percentages of total family expenditure assumed to be devoted to food, clothes and rent, including rates, at the present time are approximately 42, 9 and 7, repectively.