§ Mr. Strangasked the Secretary of State for Employment what surveys have been carried out in recent years to ascertain if living costs for rural households are above the national average; and if he will summarise the main conclusions.
§ Mr. WaddingtonThere have been no official studies of rural living costs and no comprehensive data on such costs are available. The latest report of the National Food Survey Committee indicates that food prices in 1980 in the least densely populated areas of Great Britain were half of one per cent. higher than the average for all areas.