§ Mr. Arthur Lewisasked the Lord President of the Council (1) whether he will give the annual loss in the purchasing value of the basic pension paid to former Members of Parliament under the Members' Contributory Pension Fund since October, 1964, due to the depreciation in the purchasing value of the £ sterling; and what to date has been the cumulative loss to these pensioners;
(2) whether he will publish in the OFFICIAL REPORT a table of figures giving the minimum basic pension paid to former Members of the House of Commons under the Members' Contributory Pension Fund as at October, 1964, and on the basis of the £ sterling then having a purchasing value of 20 shillings; and what, at six-monthly intervals to date, this pension was worth in purchasing value, taking account of the depreciation in the purchasing value of the £ sterling.
§ Mr. R. CarrThe detailed information requested is given below, but on the assumptions there indicated, the current purchasing value of a £600 minimum pension in 1964 terms is about £480, and the cumulative loss to date about £638.
Following is the information:
480W
Purchasing value Approximate annual loss Date £ £ October, 1964 … 600 — April, 1965 … 578 — October, 1965 … 572 22 April, 1966 … 558 — October. 1966 … 551 42 April, 1967 … 541 — October, 1967 … 540 59 April, 1968 … 518 — October, 1968 … 512 82 The losses of cutlery, glassware and crockery (including breakages) from the Refreshment Department for each of the past five years are as follows:
April, 1969 491 — October, 1969 486 109 April, 1970 465 — October, 1970 452 135 April, 1971 425/510 — October, 1971 496 133 January, 1972 488 — April 1972 480 56 Cumutative loss £638 Notes:
1. This table has been compiled by reverence to a minimum pension of £600 per annum for 10 years' service, increased to £720 per annum with effect from 9th April, 1972, by virtue of S.I. 1971 No. 623.
2. The purchasing value of the pension for each of the dates given has been estimated by reference. to the General Index of Retail Prices.
3. The approximate annual loss for each 12-month period ending in October has been estimated on the assumption that the purchasing value in the previous April represented the average value during the 12 months. Similarly the loss for the six months ending in April, 1972, has been estimated by reference to the purchasing value in January, 1972. A more accurate calculation has not been possible in the time available.
4. The figures for April, 1971, show the estimated purchasing value of the pension before and after the 20 per cent. increase which took effect that month. The approximate annual loss for the 12 months ending in October, 1971, has been estimated by reference to the mean of these figures
5. The cumulative loss of £638 shown above is in terms of October, 1964, prices. The corresponding figure in terms of April 1972 prices is £958