HL Deb 08 January 2003 vol 642 cc203-4WA
Lord Jacobs

asked Her Majesty's Government:

  1. (a) what is the increase in the retail prices index, excluding mortgage payments (RPIX), as compared with the relevant month a year ago for each of the 12 months ending 30 November; and
  2. (b) in respect of each month, what was the figure for the depreciation of owner occupied houses which has been a component of the index since 1995; and
  3. (c) what percentage this represents for each of the relevant months' figures. [HL911]

Lord McIntosh of Haringey

The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.

Letter from the Director of Macroeconomics and Labour Market, Office for National Statistics, Colin Mowl, dated 7 January 2003.

The National Statistician has been asked to reply to your recent question on the retail prices index excluding mortgage interest payments (RPIX). I am replying in his absence.

The figures are provided in the table below. In the first two columns for RPIX and house depreciation respectively the percentage change over 12 months relates to the percentage change in the relevant index number compared with the same month a year earlier. The third column shows the percentage change over 12 months for RPIX with the house depreciation component excluded.

Each component of RPIX has a weight equal to its proportion of the total expenditure on goods and services by households covered by the index. The weight for house depreciation given in the final column represents the expenditure that owner-occupiers would find necessary to maintain their houses at constant quality expressed as a percentage of total household expenditure. RPI weights are updated each February.

Percentage change over 12 months in RPIX and house depreciation & the weight of house depreciation in RPIX.
Percentage change over 12 months
RPIX House Depreciation RPIX Excluding Depreciation Weight of House Depreciation in RPIX %
Dec 2001 1.9 7.7 1.7 4.19
Jan 2002 2.6 8.3 2.3 4.19
Feb 2.2 6.5 2.0 4.15

Percentage change over 12 months in RPIX and house depreciation & the weight of house depreciation in RPIX.
Percentage change over 12 months
RPIX House Depreciation RPIX Excluding Depreciation Weight of House Depreciation in RPIX %
>Mar 2.3 6.6 2.0 4.15
Apr 2.3 7.8 2.1 4.15
May 1.8 8.6 1.5 4.15
Jun 1.5 10.6 1.1 4.15
Jul 2.0 11.8 1.5 4.15
Aug 1.9 12.7 1.4 4.15
Sep 2.1 13.4 1.6 4.15
Oct 2.3 16.0 1.8 4.15
Nov 2.8 19.3 2.1 4.15

The percentage changes over 12 months for RPIX, depreciation and RPIX excluding depreciation are published each month in table 2 of the Consumer Price Indices First Release and on the National Statistics Website www.statistics.gov.uk.