§ Sir A. POWNALLasked the Minister of Labour the extent to which the cost of clothing, being 110 to 120 per cent. above pre-War, affects the monthly cost-of-living index figure; and what the latter would be were the cost of clothing only to show a similar increase to the average of other commodities?
§ Miss BONDFIELDAs expenditure on clothing formed approximately one-eighth of pre-War working-class expenditure on items included in the cost-of-living index number statistics, a movement of eight points in the retail prices of clothing would result in a movement of approximately one point in the cost-of-living index figure. If the retail prices of clothing showed the same increase as the average of other items, the cost-of-living index figure would be lowered by six or seven points.