§ 65. Mr. Arthur Lewisasked the Secretary of State for Employment whether he will publish in the OFFICIAL REPORT a table of figures giving, since 1958, the employees' average income per year to date in each of the countries of the Six, compared with the United Kingdom figures; and, on average, what was the differential in 1958 between Great Britain's average wage and that of the Six, and how this had changed by 1968 and 1970; and as generally Common Market workers are now £7 per week in advance of those in Great Britain, what action he proposes to take to increase British wage rates to facilitate British entry into the European Economic Community.
§ Mr. BryanThe figures are given below. As regards the latter part of the Question, I do not think any special action to raise earnings in the United Kingdom is called for in connection with our application to join the European Economic Community.
International comparisons of this kind present many problems; they must be made in terms of a chosen currency and changes in the rate of exchange complicate the position. Furthermore there are differences in the purchasing power of