§ Mr. Arthur Lewisasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he is aware 523W that since October 1964 until October 1970 the purchasing value of Members of Parliament's salaries has depreciated from £3,250 to £2,467; whether he will give the figures for each of the calendar years from 1964 to 1970 on the basis that the current depreciation of 6.6 per cent. per annum continues to the end of 1970; and on this basis, what a Member of Parliament's salary will be worth in purchasing value at the end of December, 1970, compared with December, 1964.
§ Mr. Patrick JenkinThe calendar year figures for the purchasing power of a salary of £3,250, based on the movements in the consumer price index are as follows:
£ 1964 3,250 1965 3,109 1966 2,995 1967 2,922 1968 2,795 1969 2,654 Comparable figures for 1970 are not yet available but on the assumption of a further fall of 6.6 per cent. the 1970 figure would be about £2,479. The consumer price index provides annual averages, but these can be adjusted by the movements in the Index of Retail Prices to give estimates for December of each year. On that basis the purchasing power of a Member's salary, taken as £3,250 in December, 1964 would be about £2,470 in December 1970.