§ Mr. Austin Mitchellasked the Secretary of State for Employment what proportion of the goods and services covered by the retail price index is accounted for by the public sector, including rates and other charges for services.
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Closures and Redundancies reported as due to occur Redundancies Closures May 1979 to April 1982 (inclusive)* Pending from May 1982 May 1979 to April 1982 (inclusive)* Pending, from May 1982 Number of establishments Number of employees involved Number of establishments Number of employees involved North-West Region 243,180 6,945 1,310 90,628 13 2,966 Merseyside Special Development Area 58,360 2,104 270 19,374 3 1,086 Kirkby Employment Office Area 6,090 — 22 2,842 — — Ormskirk travel-to-work Area 2,693 72 16 925 — — * Including provisional figures for March and April 1982.
§ Mr. WaddingtonThe overall extent to which the RP1 is influenced by the public sector is not readily assessed, because prices for many goods and services are influenced, directly and indirectly, by both the public and private sectors. Goods and services mainly produced by the nationalised industries, and sold as such to households, account for 10.4 per cent. of the total household expenditure covered by the index. Local authority rates account for a further 3.3 per cent. Other details of the weights to be used in the index during 1982 were published on page 105 of the March issue ofEmployment Gazette.