§ Mr. Norman Lamontasked the Secretary of State for Employment what occupational groups have received smaller increases in salary than Members of Parliament since 31st December 1973; and what percentage of the labour force they represent.
§ Mr. Golding,pursuant to his reply [Official Report, 22nd November 1978; Vol. 958, c. 604], gave the following information: 728W appointments in the South-West region since its inception.
§ Mr. GoldingI am informed by the Manpower Services Commission that the annual number of placings made by PER from 1973 onwards by its offices in these regions is as follows:
1975, 1977 and 1978, all figures at constant 1977 prices.
(3) if he will list in the Official Report the retail price, including tax, of a packet of 20 standard tipped cigarettes in September of 1975, 1976, 1977 and 1978, all figures at constant 1977 prices.
§ Mr. GoldingSuitable average prices for the specified items are not readily available. The available information is given in the following table which compares indices showing changes in the retail prices of certain items with the "all items" index of retail prices.
The Department's sample surveys enable movements in earnings to be measured only for relatively large occupational groups. For all such broad groups identified in the new earnings survey, average earnings increased by relatively more than Members' salaries between April 1973 and April 1978. Some smaller groups may have fared less favourably but these cannot be identified within the larger groups to which they are classified.