§ Mrs. Renée Shortasked the Secretary of State for Employment and Productivity what estimate she has made of the effect on the cost of living of retirement pensioners of the increase of 10 per cent. on the cost of coal; and what proposals she has to improve productivity in the industry in order to reduce the cost of fuel.
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§ Mr. DellInformation about the percentage increase in retail prices of household coal is not yet available, but a 10 per cent. rise in retail prices would raise the retail prices indices (which exclude housing costs) for one-person and two-person pensioner households by about 1 per cent. and about 0.6 per cent. respectively.
As part of the second stage of its reference on coal prices, the N.B.P.I. will be examining a number of matters bearing upon productivity in the industry.