§ Mr. Beaneyasked the Minister of Labour if he is aware that the housing costs for Index families, as shown in the Family Expenditure Survey, 1961, have gone down by comparison with 1960 at a time when the Retail Price Index shows that housing costs have risen; how this discrepancy arises; and if he will cease to use the figure of housing costs in the Survey for calculating the Index weights.
§ Mr. HareThe published figures show that housing costs for "Index" households, for the year ended June, 1961, were very slightly lower (less than ½d. per week in the average) than for the year ended December, 1960. The decrease was due to sampling variations, and particularly to the inclusion in the year ended June, 1961, of a larger proportion of owner-occupiers whose costs on average are lower than those of other types of household. The Cost of Living Advisory Committee (Cmnd. 1657) recently recommended the use of information from the Survey as a basis for revision of the weighting pattern of the Index of Retail Prices, but considered that three years' results should be combined for this purpose in order to reduce the impact of sampling variations from year to year.
§ Mr. Beaneyasked the Minister of Labour with reference to the details on housing expenditure in 1960 published in the March issue of the Ministry of Labour Gazette, page 89, if he will publish similar details in respect of the 1961 Family Expenditure Survey and for the surveys of 1957, 1958 and 1959.
§ Mr. HareInformation about expenditure on housing costs by "Index" households in 1961 will be published as soon as it is available. Comparable figures for the years 1957–1959 are not readily available.
§ Mr. Beaneyasked the Minister of Labour, with reference to the 1960 Family Budget Survey, how many of the 3,121 Index families were subletting; and what was the average rent received in respect of sublet rooms.
§ Mr. HareOf the 1,128 "Index" households living in their own dwellings, 86 recorded rent received from subletting part of their dwellings, including80W garages attached to the dwelling. The average weekly rent received by these 86 households was 35s. 7d. Similar information regarding rent received by other households is not readily available.
§ Mr. Beaneyasked the Minister of Labour, with reference to the 1960 Family Budget Survey, if he is aware that 138, or over 4 per cent., of Index families are stated to be living rent-free and that this is a higher proportion than those living in furnished lettings; in what circumstances these people live rent-free; and if he will give a list of their occupations.
§ Mr. HareYes. Nearly all these families were living in rent-free accommodation by virtue of the occupations of the heads of the households which were as follows:—
Engaged in agriculture and as estate workers 55 Housekeepers, cooks and other domestic workers 8 Caretakers, porters, club stewards, waitresses 16 Managers of shops and works 14 Ministers of Religion 6 Police 14 National Coal Board employees 7 Miscellaneous occupations 7 In addition a few households lived rent-free by arrangement with another member of the family who owned the accommodation.
§ Mr. Beaneyasked the Minister of Labour, with reference to the Family Expenditure Survey, 1959, page 20, Table 4, why the average weekly expenditure of households with a gross weekly income of £3 is shown as £5 3s. 7½d., the average expenditure of households with a weekly income of £6–£8 is shown as £8 16s. 11d., plus about 12s. in supplementary payments, and households with incomes between £3–£6 and those with incomes between £8–£10 also show an average expenditure greater than income.
§ Mr. HareThe results of the 1959 Survey show current income even though some households, whose members are temporarily unemployed or sick, showed higher expenditure patterns which related to their normal incomes instead of to their lower temporarily reduced circumstances. Some households are known to be drawing on savings to meet expenditure.