HC Deb 27 October 1980 vol 991 cc120-1W
Mr. Gregor MacKenzie

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will publish in the Official Report the real spending value of the £ sterling, using 1964 as a base line, giving figures for each year to the latest convenient date.

Mr. Biffen:

Taking the internal purchasing power of the pound sterling as loop in September 1964, its value in the September of each subsequent year is given in the table below:

September 1964 100p
September 1965 95p
September 1966 92p
September 1967 91p
September 1968 86p
September 1969 82p
September 1970 76p
September 1971 69p
September 1972 65p
September 1973 59p
September 1974 51p
September 1975 40p
September 1976 35p
September 1977 30p
September 1977 28p
September 1978 28p
September 1979 24p
September 1980 21p

Mr. Kaufman

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what, based upon the retail price index, is the purchasing power of the £ sterling now, taking it as 100p on 3 May 1979.

Sir Geoffrey Howe:

Taking the internal purchasing power of the pound sterling as 100p in May 1979, its value in September 1980, the latest period for which information is available, was 80p.