HC Deb 03 March 1977 vol 927 cc320-3W
Mr. Ralph Howell

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will publish figures for 1945, 1950 and 1976, for a married man with two children earning average male manual earnings, 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: weekly rent of a three-bedroomed council dwelling, mortgage repayment on a newly-built three-bedroomed semi-detached house, three pounds of beef sirloin, two pounds of fresh cod, 14 pounds of potatoes, a large loaf, a half pound of tea, a quart of fresh milk, five cwts of best coal, five

Estimated (b) number of minutes work required to pay for items in
… … … … 1945 1950 1976
Weekly rent of a three-bedroomed council house … … … … 386 312 266
Weekly mortgage payments—interest and principal—in the first year after buiying a house at average price for "second hand" houses assuming 72 pe cent. Of price advanced, (Net opf tax relief)(c). … … … … 464 600 750
3 lbs of beef sirloin (without bone) … … … … 130 128 215
2 lbs. of fresh cod fillets … … … … 73 60 79
14 lbs of potatoes … … … … 35 35 86
Large loaf (not wrapped or sliced) per 1¾lb. … … … … 8 9 11
½lb. of tea … … … … 35 33 15
1 quart of fresh milk … … … … 20 17 10
5 cwts. of coal (high quality) … … … … 478 461 529
5 gallons of petrol … … … … 256 308 212
1 monthly season ticket Surbiton to Victoria (d) … … … … 835 805 826
Postage on five letters … … … … 27 21 19
1 telegram of twelve words … … … … 33 25 89
20 cigarettes … … … … 53 66 24
1 pint of beer … … … … 27 23 12
1 bottle of whisky … … … … 673 659 209
NOTES
(a) The earnings figures used are estimated of average gross weekly earnings for men aged 21 and over in all industries and services covered by the Department of Employment's regular inquiry into the earnings and hours of manual workers. Figures for 1945 relate to July, those for 1950 and 1976 to October.
(b) The calculations, particularly for earlier years, involve a substantial degree of approximation. Moreover, no allowances have been made for changes in quality over the period in question. Interpretation of the data should take these qualifications into account.
(c) Prices of new three-bedroomed, semi-detached houses are not available for the years in question. The figures taken relate to all second-hand houses.
(d) Weekly data not available for 1945 and 1950.
(e) Information on haircuts has not been included in the above table since there are no comparable data available for the years in question.
gallons of petrol, a weekly season ticket between Surbiton and London, postage on five letters, a telegram of 12 words, a gentleman's hair-cut, 20 cigarettes, a pint of beer and a bottle of whisky.

Mr. Golding

I have been asked to reply.

For a married man with two children under the age of 11 and with gross weekly earnings equal to the average for all full-time manual men (a) the information is as follows: