§ Mr. Knoxasked the Secretary of State for Employment (1) if he will publish in theOfficial Report a table showing the food component of the retail price index in the form of an annual index from 1945 to the present day, indicating any break points caused by redefinition of the index where appropriate;
(2) if he will publish in theOfficial Report a table showing the retail price 581W index in the form of an annual index from 1945 to the present day, indicating any break points caused by redefinitions of the index where appropriate.
§ Mr, GoldingThe information requested on the retail price index is given in the following table. It should be noted that, because of continual changes in the pattern of consumers' expenditure, price comparisons over long periods can only be regarded as approximate.
INDICES OF RETAIL PRICES—UNITED KINGDOM ANNUAL AVERAGES 1945–77 January 1974–100 year All items Food 1945 … 29.0 23.4 1946 … 29.0 23.3 1947 … 29.2 22.7 1948 … 31.2 24.0 1949 … 32.0 25.3 1950 … 33.0 27.2 1951 … 36.0 30.3 1952 … 39.3 35.0 1953 … 40.5 37.0 1954 … 41.3 38.0 1955 … 43.1 40.8 1956 … 45.3 42.6 1957 … 46.9 43.7 1958 … 48.4 44.6 1959 … 48.6 45.1 1960 … 49.1 44.8 1961 … 50.8 45.5 1962 … 53.0 47.2 1963 … 54.0 48.4 1964 … 55.8 49.7 1965 … 58.4 51.5 1966 … 60.7 53.3 1967 … 62.3 54.7 1968 … 65.2 56.9 1969 … 68.7 60.5 1970 … 73.1 64.7 1971 … 80.0 71.8 1972 … 85.7 78.2 1973 … 93.5 89.9 1974 … 108.5 106.1 1975 … 134.8 133.3 1976 … 157.1 159.9 1977* … 180.2 189.3 * The figures for 1977 are based on the nine months to September. Sources: The figures are derived from:
- (i) The General Index of Retail Prices 1956 to date. Since 1962 the weights for this index have been updated annually.
- (ii) The Interim Index of Retail Prices June 1947 to January 1956.
- (iii) The Cost of Living Index 1914 to June 1947.