HC Deb 07 April 1977 vol 929 cc676-80W
Mr. Ralph Howell

asked the Secretary of State for Employment if he will publish figures for 1950, 1964 and 1976 for a married man with no children earning a salary equal to that of a Permanent Secretary, the Prime Minister, the Chairman of British Railways, the Chairman of Cable and Wireless, a motor industry worker receiving the average earnings for that industry and a farm worker receiving the average earnings for agriculture workers, showing the length of time, after taking into account income tax liability and national insurance contribution, necessary to pay for each of the following items: (a) three pounds of beef sirloin, (b) two pounds of fresh cod, (c) 14 pounds of potatoes, (d) a large loaf. (e) a half pound of tea, (f) a pint of fresh milk, (g) one pound of butter, (h) five hundredweight of best coal, (i) five gallons of petrol, (j) a weekly season ticket between Surbiton and London, (k) postage on five letters, (l) a telegram of 12 words, (m) 20 cigarettes, (n) a pint of beer and (o) a bottle of whisky.

Mr. Golding

, pursuant to his reply [Official Report, 25th March 1977; Vol. 928, c. 723], gave the following information:

The estimates given in the following table involve considerable uncertainties. In particular, the standard hours worked, which have been assumed for the first four categories in the absence of other information, are likely in some cases to be much lower than actual hours worked.

APPROXIMATE NUMBER OF MINUTES WORK REQUIRED TO PAY FOR VARIOUS CONSUMER ITEMS
For a married man with no children, at various levels of salary or gross earnings, after allowing for income tax liability and national insurance contribution
Salary or gross earnings equal to those of
A Permanent Secretary The Prime Minister The Chairman of British Rail
Item* 1950 1964 1976 1950 1964 1976 1950 1964 1976
3 lbs. of beef sirloin (without bone) 16 22 52 10 17 50 12 18 47
2 lbs. of fresh cod fillets 7 7 19 5 5 18 6 5 17
14 lbs of potatoes 4 5 21 3 4 20 3 4 19
Large loaf (not wrapped or sliced) per 1? lb. 1 1 3 1 1 3 1 1 2
½ lb. of tea 4 3 4 3 3 3 3 3 3
1 pint of fresh milk 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
1 lb. of butter 5 4 6 3 3 6 4 3 6
5 cwts. of coal (high quality) 57 58 127 37 43 123 44 46 115
5 gallons of petrol 38 26 51 25 20 49 30 21 46
1 monthly season ticket, Surbiton to Victoria ¶ 99 97 199 65 73 192 77 77 179
Postage on 5 letters 3 2 5 2 1 4 2 1 4
1 telegram of twelve words 3 6 21 2 4 21 2 4 19
20 cigarettes 8 5 6 5 4 6 6 4 5
1 pint of beer 3 2 3 2 1 3 2 1 3
1 bottle of whisky 81 49 50 53 37 49 63 39 45

Salary or gross earnings equal to those of
The Chairman of Cable & Wireless A motor industry worker§ An agricultural worker
Item* 1950 1964 1976 1950 1964 1976 1950 1964 1976
3 lbs. of beef sirloin (without bone) 23 22 57 107 154 202 187 279 293
2 lbs of fresh cod fillets 11 7 21 50 48 75 87 87 108
14 lbs. of potatoes 6 5 23 29 33 81 51 59 118
Large loaf (not wrapped or sliced) per 1¾ lb 2 1 3 8 9 10 13 16 15
½ lb. of tea 6 3 4 27 24 14 48 43 20
1 pint of fresh milk 1 1 1 7 6 5 12 10 7
1 lb. of butter 7 4 7 33 29 25 58 53 36
5 cwts. of coal (high quality) 82 58 140 385 399 498 673 722 723
5 gallons of petrol 55 26 56 258 182 199 450 330 289
1 monthly season ticket, Surbiton to Victoria ¶ 144 96 218 673 669 777 1,176 1,210 1,127
Postage on 5 letters 4 2 5 17 11 18 30 20 26
1 telegram of twelve words 4 5 24 21 38 84 36 69 122
20 cigarettes 12 5 6 55 37 23 97 68 33
1 pint of beer 4 2 3 19 12 12 33 22 17
1 bottle of whisky 118 49 55 551 339 197 963 612 286

Notes:

* No allowances have been made for possible changes in quality over the period in question.

† A working week of 37 hours for 1950 and 1964 and 36 hours for 1976 has been assumed for these categories.

‡ Calculations for this category have been made on the basis of a working week of 37 hours in 1950, 22.2 hours (3 days) in 1964 and 25.2 hours (3½ days) in 1976.

§ Based on average weekly earnings and hours of work of full-time manual men (aged 21 and over) employed in motor vehicle manufacture in the United Kingdom.

║ Based on average weekly earnings and hours of work of full-time males (aged 20 and over) employed in agriculture in Great Britain.

¶ Weekly data not available for 1950 and 1964.