§ Mr. Ellis Smithasked the President of the Board of Trade the average increase in wages of all workers, miners, engineers and transport workers, respectively, and percentage increase over 1939; the average cost of new furniture in 1939 for a bedroom, sitting-room and dining-room, respectively; the average cost of similar secondhand furniture for similar rooms in 1943, 1944; and what is the percentage increase for each room.
§ Mr. DaltonStatistics showing the average earnings of wage-earners in most of the principal industries in the last week of October, 1938, and in the last week of January, 1944—the latest date for which such particulars are available—and the percentages of increase between these two dates, as ascertained by special inquiries974W made by the Ministry of Labour and National Service, were published on pages 126 to 134 of the August, 1944, issue of the "Ministry of Labour Gazette," a copy of which is in the Library. With regard to the latter part of the Question, I regret that the exact information is not available. Generally speaking, however, present prices of second-hand furniture are rather more than double those of comparable new furniture before the war.