§ Mr. Colin Shepherdasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer how long a married man with two children and earning the national average wage would have had to work to earn sufficient money to purchase a gallon of 4-star petrol in April 1970, April 1975, April 1980 and immediately after the 1981 Budget change.
§ Mr. BrittanThe information requested for the years 1970, 1975 and 1980 is as follows:
minutes April 1970 40 April 1975 44 April 1980 38 For 1980 the estimates of average net earnings on which the answer is based include child benefit. I regret that information about average net earnings and hours worked necessary to produce a similar calculation for the period immediately after the Budget is not yet available.