§ Mr. Strawasked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will publish in the Official Report a table showing indices based on 1958=100 for (a) unrebated council rents in England. (b) rebated council rents in England, (c) retail prices and (d) average earnings for each year from 1958 to date; and what are the actual monetary levels of (a) and (b) in each year.
§ Mr. Stanley[pursuant to his reply, 15 December 19801: The information sought is provided as fully as possible in the following table. Particular attention should be given to the notes accompanying the figures.
161W
for England and that for England and Wales. 3. Average earnings are represented by the average earnings of men in manual work, as figures for earnings in all occupations, manual and non-manual together, only go back to 1970. Average earnings from 1970 onwards are the average earnings of adult men in full-time employment in manual occupations, whose pay was not affected by absence, as shown by the Department of Employment's new earnings survey. For the years before 1970 the earnings figures are from the Department of Employment's—and predecessors in title—April inquiry into earnings of manual workers in manufacturing and certain other industries; and refer to adult men. The earnings figures all refer to Great Britain; figures for England separately could not be compiled except at disproportionate cost, and are not available at all before 1962. 4. The rent and earnings figures refer to April of each year. Since some authorities adjust their rents at other times of the year, average rents for whole years would generally be different from the April figures shown here.