§ Mr. Derek Pageasked the Minister of Labour in view of the difficulty of assessing reasonable rent levels without adequate data on local earnings, if he will take steps to secure such data for the King's Lynn area.
§ Mr. ThorntonThe present half-yearly enquiry into earnings and hours is made on a sample basis and is designed to give reliable figures for areas not smaller than regions. To obtain reliable information as asked for by the hon. Member would require a virtual census of firms in all industries and my right hon. Friend does not feel this would be justified.