§ Mr. Tebbitasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) what has been the fall in the net take-home pay, in real terms, of a married worker with two small children drawing the average industrial wage since October 1974; and how much extra, in total, he would have had to earn since the date to maintain the purchasing power of his take-home pay at a constant level;
(2) in respect of a married worker with two children earning the average industrial wage, what has been the aggregate of net take-home pay in real terms, expressed in terms of the present value of the £ sterling, since October 1974.
§ Mr. Robert Sheldon,pursuant to his reply [Official Report, 20th June 1977; Vol. 933, c. 323],gave the following information:
The real net income of a married man with two children not over 11 years of age fell by 8.1 per cent. on the basis of the change in the Retail Price index between October 1974 and April 1977. He would have had to earn a further £501 over that time to maintain the purchasing power of his net income at its October 1974 level. His aggregate real net income over the same period at April 1977 prices amounted to £7,966.