§ Mr. David Steelasked the Secretary of State for Employment what part the cost of house purchase for owner-occupation plays in the index of retail prices.
§ Mr. Chichester-ClarkOn the advice of the Cost of Living—now Retail Prices Index—Advisory Committee owner-occupiers are assumed to pay rental equivalents which are estimates of the rents which would be paid for their dwellings if they were rented instead of being owner-occupied. These rental equivalents are aggregated with rents paid by tenants to determine the weight for rent in the index, and are assumed to move in the same way as rents paid by tenants of unfurnished dwellings.