§ Mr. FrenchTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when calculating changes in the retail prices index what allowance is made by his Department for community charge rebates.
§ Mr. MaplesFollowing recommendations of the Retail Prices Index Advisory Committee, subsidies and discounts to selected groups of consumers which are funded by central Government are not taken into account in the index as they are regarded as subventions on income which help certain households to meet the price in question rather than reductions in the price itself. In accordance with this principle no allowance is made for community charge rebates.