§ Lord Oakeshott of Seagrove Bayasked Her Majesty's Government:
What would have been the percentage increase in the RPIX inflation index for each year since 1997, if its housing-related elements had risen each year only by the same percentage as national average earnings. [HL962]
Lord Mclntosh of HaringeyThe information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
Letter from the National Statistician, Len Cook, dated 2 February 2004.
The National Statistician has been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question asking what the percentage change in the RPIX measure of inflation would have been for each year since 1997 if its housing-related elements had risen each year only by the same percentage as national average earnings. I am replying in his absence. (HL962)
These figures are provided in the attached table, along with the published percentage changes in RPIX over the same period for comparison.
These figures have been calculated by replacing the housing group components in RPIX (Rent; Depreciation; Council tax and rates; Water and other charges; Repairs and maintenance charges; Do-it-yourself materials; Dwelling insurance and ground rent) with the non-season ally adjusted Average Earnings Index (AEI) including bonuses. It should be 83WA noted that RPIX covers the United Kingdom and excludes the top 4 per cent of households by income, while the AEI covers all employees in Great Britain. It is not possible to calculate a figure for 2003 because AEI data for December 2003 are not available at present.
Average annual percentage changes to RPIX, and RPIX with adjustment as specified, 1997–2002 RPIX RPIX, with housing components rising inline with average earnings 1997 2.8 2.7 1998 2.6 2.6 1999 2.3 2.2 2000 2.1 2.0 2001 2.1 2.0 2002 2.2 1.7