§ Sir W. Smithersasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what, at the lastest available date, was the purchasing power of the £ sterling as compared with 1900, and the purchasing power if the £369,000,000 cost-of-living subsidy is ignored.
§ Mr. Glenvil HallOn the cost-of-living basis at 1st December, 1946, the purchasing power of the £ sterling was 45 per cent. of its value in 1900. As I have already explained very fully to the hon. Member in correspondence, a comparison which ignored the cost-of-living subsidy would have no real meaning.