§ Mr. Skeetasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what would be the total cost of the Exchequer subsidy required to reduce the retail price index by 1 per cent.
§ Mr. DellOne way of obtaining a broad estimate of the cost of reducing the retail price index by 1 per cent. is to work on the basis that the cost approximates to 1 per cent. of consumers' expenditure, which gives a figure in the range of £400 million-£500 million. But this range could be wide of the mark for any specific subsidy scheme, depending upon the nature of the subsidy plan, its distribution over different goods and services, and other factors.