§ Mr. de Freitasasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he is aware that taking the internal purchasing value of the £ sterling as 20s. in October, 1951, it had declined to 18s. 7d. by January, 1953, and 17s. 8d. by January, 1955; and what was the comparable figure for January, 1957.
§ Mr. BirchThe Answer to the first part of the Question is "Yes". The Answer to the second part is 16s. 1d. These calculations are based on the Index of Retail Prices.