§ 9. Mr. Kenneth Lewisasked the Secretary of State for Employment what effect rises in the prices of products and services provided by Government services or nationalised industries has had on the cost of living index in the last four months and up to June 1974.
§ Mr. BoothThe latest available index of retail prices relates to 21st May 1974. In the three months to that date, increases in the prices of those goods and services provided by nationalised industries which have a direct effect on the public produced a rise in the general index of retail prices of just under one-third of 1 per cent.
As the index is designed to measure changes in retail prices paid by ordinary households it does not cover the cost of Government services.