§ Mr. Russell Johnstonasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what were the relative standards of iving of the various members of the European Economic Community at the latest convenient date.
§ Mr. Robert SheldonI regret that it is not possible to answer this Question at present. The information on gross national product per head, as compiled in domestic currencies, can be converted to a common unit of measurement only on the basis of official or market rates of exchange, neither of which necessarily reflects the relative internal purchasing 73W powers of the currencies. The Statistical Office of the European Communities plans to conduct later this year a survey with the aim of establishing a better basis of comparison of consumer spending between the new and the original member countries of the European Communities.