§ Mr. Lewisasked the Secretary to the Treasury whether he will state the number of civil servants who were on 1st March, 1957, in a similar position to Members of Parliament, of only receiving approximately half of the relative purchasing value of the salaries which they received on the date in 1911 when salaries for Members of Parliament were first introduced.
§ Mr. PowellThe purchasing power of a Member of Parliament's £1,000 salary is now equivalent to about 57 per cent. of that of the £400 salary when introduced in 1911, or 73 per cent. if Sessional allowance is taken into account. Owing to changes in the structure of the Civil Service since 1911, it is not possible to state how many civil servants today have salaries with similarly reduced purchasing power.