HC Deb 03 April 1980 vol 982 cc420-2W
Mr. Arthur Lewis

asked the Secretary of State for Employment whether he will give, for the longest and most convenient stated period of time, details showing to what extent Members' salaries have maintained, increased, or reduced their relative purchasing power compared with judges, police, servicemen, civil servants, miners, local government officers, teachers, and for national average wage of workers in industry.

Mr. Jim Lester

The following table presents information covering the period since 1970, based mainly on figures from the new earnings survey and incorporating approximate estimates of the position in June 1979.

Earnings of full-time male employees in certain occupational groups as a percentage of the basic salary of Members of Parliament(1)
1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979(9)
April April April April April April April April April April June
Circuit judges (2) … … 216.8 222.3 230.1 289.0 226.0 214.4 231.7 261.2 (190.6)
Police 49.6 57.1 49.9 57.6 61.3 82.3 78.6 75.8 81.9 89.7 (78.3)
Army private servicemen (3) 31.5 31.5 32.0 34.5 39.1 49.9 44.5 44.3 47.8 56.5 (41.2)
Civil service:
administrative and executive grades (4) 68.3 72.8 60.7 60.7 79.0 86.8 88.1 87.3 94.3 93.4 (68.2)
Face trained coalminers (5) 43.6 48.4 40.5 48.3 59.3 86.1 73.0 72.8 91.0 95.6 (69.8)
Local authority:
administrative, professional technical and clerical staff (6) 51.5 60.0 48.0 53.4 60.6 76.6 71.1 74.5 76.8 77.1 (56.2)
Primary and secondary school teachers (7) 57.8 59.2 48.9 54.3 60.8 84.4 81.2 80.6 84.9 80.2 (64.8)
Manual employees in manufacturing industry(8) 45.6 49.8 39.9 46.1 52.1 65.4 60.9 63.6 70.2 73.8 (56.9)

Notes:

(1) Mainly gross earnings of employees whose pay was not affected by absence.

(2) Police service (ranks below superintendent only), (New Earnings Survey).

(3) Basic salary (excluding allowances) of class 2, band 1, scale C.

(4) Civil Service National Whitley Council: administration group, middle and higher grades (New Earnings Survey).

(5) New Earnings Survey. The figures prior to 1973 are based on changes in earnings of all underground miners.

(6) England and Wales and Scotland combined. Administrative, professional, technical and clerical NJC (New Earnings Survey).

(7) England and Wales Burnham Committee and Scottish Teachers' Salaries Committee: primary and secondary schools (New Earnings Survey)

(8) New Earnings Survey.

(9) To extend the comparison to June 1979 when the basic salary of Members of Parliament was increased by 37 per cent, estimates of earnings for other occupational categories have been extrapolated from the firm estimates for April by known changes in pay scales between April and June, although these figures are likely to be less precise than those for earlier years.