§ Weights to be used in 1976
§ The weights for the General Index of Retail Prices are brought up-to-date each year on the basis of information obtained from the Family Expenditure Survey. Following the recommendation of the Retail Prices Index Advisory Committee* in February 1975, the information relates, as a general rule, to the expenditure of "Index" households† for the latest 12 month period for which data are available. The latest information, which is for the year ended June 1975, was published in an article in the January 1976 issue of the Gazette and the weighting pattern derived from it will be used in calculating the General Index from February 1976 to January 1977. The expenditure was first re-Valued to January 1976 prices before the weights were calculated. The few exceptions to the general rules applying to the calculation of the weights were explained in the article (page 30).
§ The weights to be used in 1976 are as follows:
| Food | |
| Bread | 11 |
| Flour | 1 |
| Other cereals | 4 |
| Biscuits | 6 |
| Cakes, buns, pastries, etc | 6 |
| Beef | 18 |
| Mutton and lamb | 7 |
| Pork | 6 |
| Bacon | 8 |
| Ham (cooked) | 3 |
| Sausages, pies, canned meat and other meat and other products, offal and poultry | 19 |
| Fish, fresh, dried, canned, etc. | 7 |
| Butter | 5 |
| Margarine | 2 |
| Lard and other cooking fats | 2 |
| Cheese | 5 |
| Eggs | 5 |
| Milk, fresh | 19 |
| Milk, canned, dried, etc. | 3 |
| Tea | 3 |
| Coffee, cocoa, proprietary drinks | 2 |
| Soft drinks | 5 |
| Sugar | 4 |
| Jam, marmalade and syrup | 2 |
| Potatoes | 16 |
| Tomatoes, other fresh vegetables and canned, frozen, etc. vegetables | 15 |
| Fruit, fresh, canned, dried etc. | 11 |
| Sweets and chocolates | 13 |
| Ice cream | 3 |
| Other foods | 12 |
| Food for animals | 5 |
| Total, Food | 228 |
| Alcoholic Drink | |
| Beer, etc | 46 |
| Spirits, wines, etc. | 35 |
| Total, Alcoholic drink | 81 |
| Tobacco | |
| Cigarettes | 42 |
| Tobacco | 4 |
| Total, Tobacco | 46 |
| Housing | |
| Rent | 29 |
| Owner-occupiers' mortgage interest payment | 24 |
| Owner-occupiers' dwelling insurance premiums and ground rent | 2 |
| Rates and water charges | 35 |
| Charges for repairs, maintenance, etc | 8 |
| Materials for home repairs, decorations, etc. | 14 |
| Total, Housing | 112 |
| Fuel and Light | |
| Coal | 8 |
| Coke | 2 |
| Gas | 15 |
| Electricity | 27 |
| Oil and other fuel and light | 4 |
| Total Fuel and light | 56 |
| Durable Household Goods | |
| Furniture | 14 |
| Radio, television, etc. | 13 |
| Other household appliances | 20 |
| Floor coverings | 10 |
| Soft furnishings | 8 |
| Chinaware, glassware, etc. | 2 |
| Hardware, ironmongery, etc. | 8 |
| Total, Durable household goods | 75 |
| Clothing and Footwear | |
| Men's outer clothing | 16 |
| Men's underclothing | 5 |
| Women's outer clothing | 24 |
| Women's underclothing | 4 |
| Children's outer clothing | 9 |
| Children's underclothing | 2 |
| Hose | 3 |
| Gloves, haberdashery, hats, etc. | 4 |
| Clothing materials | 2 |
| Men's footwear | 5 |
| Women's footwear | 6 |
| Children's footwear | 4 |
| Total, Clothing and footwear | 84 |
| Transport and Vehicles | |
| Purchase of motor vehicles | 46 |
| Maintenance of motor vehicles | 14 |
| Petrol and oil | 40 |
| Motor licences | 8 |
| Motor insurance | 8 |
| Cycles and other vehicles | 2 |
| Rail transport | 8 |
| Bus, etc. transport | 14 |
| Total, Transport and vehicles | 140 |
| Miscellaneous Goods | |
| Books | 3 |
| Newspapers and periodicals | 13 |
| Writing paper and other stationers' goods | 5 |
| Medicine and surgical, etc. goods | 4 |
| Toilet requisites | 9 |
| Soap and other detergents | 5 |
| Soda, polishes, etc. | 3 |
| Other household goods | 2 |
| Travel and sports goods, leather goods, jewellery, etc. | 16 |
| Photographic and optical goods | 5 |
| Toys | 5 |
| Plants, flowers, horticultural goods, etc. | 4 |
| Total, Miscellaneous goods | 74 |
| Services | |
| Postage, etc | 4 |
| Telephone, telegrams, etc | 12 |
| Television licences and set rentals | 13 |
| Other entertainment | 9 |
| Domestic help | 4 |
| Hairdressing | 6 |
| Boot and shoe repairing | 1 |
| Laundering | 1 |
| Dry cleaning and miscellaneous services | 7 |
| Total, Services | 57 |
| Meals Bought and Consumed Outside the Home | 47 |
| Total, all items | 1,000 |
| *Retail Prices Index Advisory Committee: Housing costs, weighting and other matters affecting the retail prices index, Cmnd. 5905, H.M. Stationary Office, 38p. | |
| † Index households are all households other than (a) "high income" households, i.e. the 3 or 4 per cent, where the "heads of household" have the highest weekly incomes viz. a recorded gross income of at least £100 a week in the second half of 1974, £110 a week in the first half of 1975 and (b) "pensioner" households with limited means, i.e. those in which at least three quarters of the total income is derived from national insurance retirement or similar pensions and/or supplementary benefits paid in supplementation of, or instead of, such pensions; these amount to about 11 per cent, of households. |