asked the Minister of Labour whether he will now publish monthly a full list of the changes in particular retail prices used in compiling the interim retail price index in accordance with the practice followed in respect of the former cost-of-living index.

I regret that this is not practicable.

Will my right hon. Friend state why it is not practicable?

Yes, Sir. It is necessary to measure price movements and not absolute prices. At the same time, we have to take into consideration the value of the article as well as the price. Therefore, we can only measure the price tendencies, and not the price of specific articles.