§ Mr. McKayasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what revision has been made of the index indicating the drop in the value of the £ sterling since 1945; and to give figures, calculated by each index, indicating also the rise in the retail prices accordingly each year.
§ Mr. R. A. ButlerThe change in the purchasing power of the £ sterling since 1945 is measured by reference to the Consumer Price Index, which is calculated only for complete calendar years, up to the latest complete year. The figures are subject to revision—generally slight—each year.
Until the figure for the current year is available the change in the purchasing power of the £ is brought up to date provisionally by linking the Consumer Price Index for the last year with the Interim Index of Retail Prices, which is calculated monthly. If, when the Consumer Price Index for the complete calendar year is available, it is discovered that the 99W two indices have moved differently it may be necessary to revise any figures previously obtained by linking them.
The table below sets out the Consumer Price Index for 1945 to 1953, with a provisional figure for October, 1954, and
— 1 2 3 4 Consumer Price Index 1948=100 Purchasing power of the £ derived from col. 1* 1948=20s. Interim Index of Retail Prices 1948=100 Corresponding value of the £ derived from col. 3* 1948=20s. s. d. s. d. 1945 … 85 — — — 1946 … 87 — — — 1947 … 93 — — — 1948 … 100 20 0 100 20 0 1949 … 103 19 6 103 19 5 1950 … 106 18 10 106 18 11 1951 … 115 17 4 116 17 4 1952 … 122 16 4 126 15 10 1953 … 125 16 1 130 15 4 October, 1954 … 128 15 7 134 15 0 (provisional) * Figures in cols. 2 and 4 have been calculated from the series given in cols. 1 and 3 before rounding.