§ Mr. Alexander Lyonasked the First Secretary of State and Secretary of State for Economic Affairs, what has been the increase in earnings and prices since 20th July, 1966, according to the latest figures available; and what are the comparative figures for a similar period after July, 1961.
§ Mr. Frederick Lee,pursuant to his reply [9th February. 1967; Vol. 740, c. 344] gave the following information:
The movement of earnings between July, 1966, and November, 1966, as recorded in the Ministry of Labour's index of average earnings (monthly inquiry) has been as follows:
124W
1963 Average … 100 July, 1966 … 121.9 November, 1966 … 120.3 I regret that corresponding figures for 1961 are not available.
The movement of the Index of Retail Prices has been as follows:
January, 1962 … 100 19th July, 1966 … 116.6 13th December, 1966 … 118.3 This represented an increase of 1.5 per cent. compared with an increase of 2.2 per cent. in the corresponding period of 1961.