§ Mr. Arthur Lewisasked the Minister for the Civil Service to what extent hon. Members' salaries have depreciated due to inflation since the date of publication of the last two Boyle committee reports; and to what extent the purchasing power of hon. Members' salaries has depreciated since the last stated date of adjustment.
§ Mr. St. John-StevasI have been asked to reply.
The dates of publication of the last two reports on hon. Members' salaries from the Review Body on Top Salaries were June 1975 and June 1979. The amounts of parliamentary salary which came into effect on 13 June 1975 and 13 June 1979 were £5,750 and £9,450 respectively.
The equivalent values in March 1980 real terms, as measured by the movement in the general index of retail prices, are £10,577 and £10,852, representing depreciations of 11.9 per cent. and 14.8 per cent over the current salary.