§ Mr. Ian Gilmourasked the Minister of Labour (1) if he will list the wage increases that have been granted since the publication of the White Paper on Prices and Incomes Policy which come within the 3½ per cent. norm;
(2) if he will list the wage increases that have been granted since 26th April which exceed the 3½ per cent. norm.
§ Mr. GunterAs I am sure the hon. Member knows, paragraph 11 of Command Paper 2639 explains that the "norm" indicates the average rate of annual increase of money incomes per head which is consistent with stability in the general level of prices and says that in present circumstances the appro-126W priate figure is 3 to 3½ per cent. Comprehensive information about agreements and awards affecting agreed rates of wages is published each month in the Ministry of Labour Gazette. This information shows that it could be misleading simply to list increases in wage rates in percentage terms and relate them on this basis to the "norm".