§ Mr. Arthur Lewisasked the Secretary of State for Employment, in view of the fact that hon. Members' salaries would have to rise to £10,627 in March 1978 to maintain their same purchasing value as in May 1965 when they were £3,250 p.a., after allowing for the movement in the index of retail prices, whether he will list the number of trades and industries and the number of workers in industry who are relatively in the same situation.
§ Mr. GoldingThe Department's earnings surveys enable movements in average earnings since May 1965 to be measured only for very general groups of workers in broad groups of industries, mainly in the production sector. These general averages have all increased relattively more than the general Index of Retail Prices. Although some narrower groups of workers may possibly have fared less favourably, the available survey results do not enable them to be identified.