HC Deb 30 April 1965 vol 711 cc101-2W
Mr. Driberg

asked the Postmaster-General if he will publish in HANSARD a table showing the charge for sending a one-ounce letter by inland post in each year since official statistics of the cost of living have been published, relating these charges to variations in the cost of living.

Mr. Benn

The tariff for a 1 oz. letter has changed six times since 1914 when cost of living indices were first published. The following table compares the cost of a 1 oz. letter with the cost of living index for those years when tariff changes occurred.

Year Cost of 1 oz. Letter cost of Living Index
Actual Index
d.
1914 1 100 100
1918 150 203
1920 2 200 250
1922 150 183
1940 250 not available
1957 3 300 438
4th Quarter 1964 503
May, 1965 4 400

The last column is based on the Retail Price Index before 1940 and on the Consumer Price Index after 1940.