§ Mr. David NicholsonTo ask the Secretary of State for Employment what proposals he has to develop indicators for retail prices, which take account of regional variations, including variations in housing costs; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. LilleyI have been asked to reply.
The RPI already takes account of regional variations in housing costs and other prices since it is based on expenditure information and price quotations from every region, weighted together so as to give an appropriately balanced indicator for the United Kingdom as a whole. It has never been the practice to compile separate indicators for the different regions and I have no plans to do so.