§ 96. Mr. Wolrige-Gordonasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what factors are taken into account in estimating the depreciation of the purchasing power of the £ sterling in real terms since 1964.
§ Mr. TaverneChanges in the internal purchasing power of the £ sterling are estimated from the movements in the consumer price index, which is published in Table 16 of the National Income Blue Book. This index is prepared by dividing total consumers' expenditure at current prices each year by the corresponding figures at constant prices. The consumer price index is only available for calendar years and when a comparison for particular months is requested the movements of the index of retail prices 285W are used for the months at the beginning and end of the period.