§ Lord Kilbrackenasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether further to their reply to his Question for Written Answer of 25th March 1986 (H.L. WA cols. 1387–1388), which showed how the purchasing power of the pound had fallen biennially from 115 on 1st January 1916 to 5.8 on 1st January 1986, they will now bring the figures up to date by showing further falls on 1st January in each year to date.
2WA
§ Lord Brabazon of TaraComparisons of the purchasing power of the pound over long periods can only be regarded as approximate because of changes in the types and characteristics of goods and services which consumers can buy. Estimates based on the retail prices index and its predecessors are given in the following table. These are for January of each year taking January 1939 = 100.
Year Index 1987 5.6 1988 5.4 1989 5.0 1990 4.7 1991 4.3 This can be interpreted as:—
one pound in January 1991 would buy just over 4 per cent. of the volume of goods and services that one pound would have bought in January 1939.