63. Mr. Vaneasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer the present rate of unemployment benefit for a single man; the rate in July, 1939; and the purchasing power of the present rate expressed in terms of 1939 values.
232W
§ Mr. JayTwenty-six shillings per week as compared with 17s. in 1939. The 26s. now was worth about 16s. 3d. in 1939 on the basis of the Official Index of Retail Prices introduced in June, 1947, and the previous Cost of Living Index. But, as my right hon. Friend said in his answer to a similar Question on 16th April, I would draw the hon. Member's attention to the precarious nature of comparisons in particular contexts made on the basis of general indices of this kind.