Mr. de Freirasasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what was the internal purchasing value of the £ sterling based on the Interim Index of Retail Prices in July 1956, 1955, 1954, 1953, and 1952, taking the value in October, 1951, as 20s.
§ Sir E. BoyleTaking the internal purchasing power of the £ as 20s. in October, 1951, the corresponding figures for the dates referred to in the question are as follows:
s. d. July, 1952 … … … 18 9 July, 1953 … … … 18 3 July, 1954 … … … 17 10 July, 1955 … … … 17 2 June, 1956 … … … 16 5 This estimate is based on the Interim Index of Retail Prices for the first four dates, and on the new Retail Price Index (which was introduced in January, 1956) for the last. June, 1956, is the latest date for which information is available,