§ Sir C. Osborneasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will give in column form the internal purchasing power of the £ sterling for every year since 1945, taking 20s. as the basis for the period most convenient nearest to 1945.
§ Mr. DiamondAs the answer is in the form of a table of figures, I will, with permission, circulate it in the OFFICIAL REPORT.
The table below shows the internal purchasing power of the £ sterling in the years 1946 to 1967 taking its value as 20s. in 1946, the nearest convenient date to 1945. The estimates are based on movements in the consumer price index from 1946 to 1966, with a provisional figure for 1967 based on the index of retail prices.
s. d s. d 1946 … 20 0 1957 … 12 5 1947 … 18 9 1958 … 12 1 1948 … 17 5 1959 … 12 0 1949 … 17 0 1960 … 11 11 1950 … 16 6 1961 … 11 7 1951 … 15 2 1962 … 11 2 1952 … 14 3 1963 … 11 0 1953 … 14 1 1964 … 10 8 1954 … 13 10 1965 … 10 3 1955 … 13 4 1966 … 9 10 1956 … 12 9 1967 … 9 7