§ Mrs. Sally Oppenheimasked the Secretary of State for Prices and Consumer Protection which of those items included in the selective price restraint scheme, following an application to the Price Commission for a price increase where this is required, have increased in price in the three months prior to the operation of the scheme.
§ Mr. MaclennanThe average interval for all private sector products between prenotifications made to the Price Commission by category I manufacturers is about five months. This means that in any period of three months one must expect prenotifications on a high proportion of products, both on those included in the price check scheme and on those not included. Had there been any widespread bringing forward of price increases, one would have expected to see it reflected in a hump in the Wholesale and Retail Price Indices. However, as the House is aware, both the wholesale and retail price indices for January were widely regarded as providing encouraging evidence of the continued fall in the rate of inflation.