§ Mr. Arthur Lewisasked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will give the figure for the latest convenient date for the average annual pay packet in the London Borough of Newham, and show how this compares with the figure of £1,243 given in the survey by his Department in 1970 and with the current figures for the rest of London and for Monmouthshire.
§ Sir K. JosephThe figure of £1,243 is the average gross earnings—based on a ½per cent. sample—in the 1970–71 tax year for persons within the scope of the graduated pension scheme and covered by PAYE, who were in the employment field throughout the year and resided in the Greater London Council subdivision comprising the boroughs of Newham and82W Tower Hamlets and parts of the boroughs of Hackney, Southwark, Lewisham and Greenwich. The averages for men and women were £1,485 and £809 respectively.
The corresponding figures were £1,457—£1,739 for men and £945 for women—for the rest of the Greater London area and £1,298—£1,443 for men and £801 for women—for Monmouthshire, including Newport.
The figures are subject to sampling error and the earnings for men and for women in the Greater London Council subdivision including Newham, and Monmouthshire are not significantly different; the overall averages reflect the different proportions of men and women.
The figures for 1971–72 are not yet available.