§ Mr. de Freitasasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he is aware that, taking the internal purchasing value 156W of the £ sterling as 20s. in October, 1951, it had declined to 18s. 7d. by February, 1953, and 17s. 8d. by February, 1955; and what was the comparable figure for February, 1957.
§ Mr. Birch:The Answer to the first part of the Question is "Yes". The Answer to the second part is 16s. 1d. These calculations are based on the Index of Retail Prices.