§ Mr. Denzil Daviesasked the Chancelor of the Exchequer whether the recent suggestion in a communication to some nationalised bodies that pay rises should not exceed the forecast increase in the retail price index will also apply to central Government employees.
§ Mr. BiffenThe suggestion to which the right hon. Member is probably referring was not that pay rises should not exceed the forecast increase in the retail price index but that, in setting cash limits for the nationalised industries, the Government would be looking for reductions in real labour costs per unit of output. What this means for the pay of individual workers will depend, among other things, on improvements in productivity in each of the industries concerned.