§ Mr. MacGregorasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer to what levels the main personal allowances would need to be raised in order to maintain their real value at April 1973; and what these increases would cost in terms of revenue.
§ Mr. Robert SheldonOn the basis of the change in the retail prices index between April 1973 and December 1977—the latest date available—the level of the main personal allowances would be as follows:
£ Single (and wife's earned income) allowance 1,217 Married allowance 1,585 Age allowance—single person 1,432* Age allowance—married 2,045* *Equivalent to age exemption levels in 1973–74. The estimated cost of increasing allowances to these levels for 1977–78 would be about £1,660 million.