§ 23. Mr. Dixonasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what, from international 63W sources available to him, was the standard of living on the basis of disposable income per head, expressed in United States dollars, in the United Kingdom and the Common Market, respectively, in the fourth quarter of 1964, the second quarter of 1970 and the latest available quarter.
§ Mr. BarberThe broad picture is that in 1964 the standard of living in the United Kingdom was slightly higher than in the Six. By 1970 it was substantially lower. The decline in the standard of living in the United Kingdom, relative to that in the Six, was halted last year, and it is expected that the figures for this year will show that, as a result of the change in policies of the past two years, the United Kingdom is now catching up again.
The available information is as follows:
Personal disposal income per head expressed in terms of United States dollars United Kingdom Six Countries of the "old" Common Market 1964 1,174 1,087 1970 1,410 1,749 1971 1,558 1,923 NOTE: Only annual information is available for the six Common Market countries. Figures have been converted from national currencies into United States dollars at official rates of exchange, but these do not necessarily reflect differences in the internal purchasing power of the national currencies.