§ Mr. Rookerasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what would be the effect on the retail prices index at some recent convenient date if housing costs were removed.
§ Mr. Brittan[pursuant to his reply, 1 March 1982, c. 32]: If the housing component were excluded from the retail prices index, the level would have stood at 304.3 in January 1982 compared with 100 in January 1974. This is 10.3 per cent. higher than in January 1981.
§ Mr. Rookerasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what proportion of the retail prices index is formed by housing costs; and if this has changed over the past two years.
§ Mr. Brittan[pursuant to his reply, 1 March 1982, c. 32]: The published weights for the retail prices index 114W refer to January of each year. Thus, in January 1981 housing costs formed 13.5 per cent. of the index, while in January 1980 they accounted for 12.4 per cent. The weights for January 1982 will be published in the March edition of Employment Gazette.