HC Deb 31 January 1978 vol 943 cc95-6W
41. Mr. Hugh Jenkins

asked the Secretary of State for Employment if he will compare the current cost of the following items with that 10 years ago as a percentage of the average wage in each case: pint of beer, bottle of whisky, bottle of vermouth, bottle of other alcoholic liquor, 20 cigarettes, large loaf, pint of milk, one lb. of beef, one lb. of pork, one lb. of lamb, one lb. sausages, one lb. cheese, one lb. chicken, unit of electricity, unit of gas, gallon of petrol, the bus fare from Westminster to Putney, the Underground fare from Westminster to Putney, the train fare from Waterloo to Putney, the average council rent in Putney, a first-class stamp for a letter, and a second-class stamp for a letter.

Mr. Golding

Assuming the worker to have gross weekly earnings equal to the average for all full-time manual men and deductions for income tax and national insurance appropriate to a married man with two children under the age of 11, available information is as follows:

Percentage of average net earnings
October 1967 October 1977
1 pint of beer (bottled/canned) 0.7 0.7
1 bottle of whisky 14.0 7.6
1 bottle of gin 13.6 7.5
20 cigarettes 1.2 1.0
1 large loaf 0.4 0.4
1 pint of milk (ordinary) 0.2 0.2
1 lb. sirloin of beef (without bone) 1.9 2.5
1 lb. loin of pork (with bone) 1.5 1.6
1 lb. breast of lamb (home killed) 0.4 0.6
1 lb. beef sausages 0.7 0.7
1 lb. Cheddar type cheese 0.9 1.2
1 lb. chicken (roasting, frozen) 0.9 0.7
1 KWH electricity 0.05 0.05
1 therm gas 0.7 0.4
1 gallon four-star petrol 1.5 1.4
Bus fare Westminster to Putney (single) 0.5 0.8
Underground fare Westminster to Putney (East) 0.5 0.7
Train fare Waterloo to Putney (single 2nd class) 0.5 0.5
Stamp for letter (minimum) 0.1 0.15

The percentages in the two years are not fully comparable for all items because of changes in the specifications of the items priced.