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Mr. Peart
asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what was the purchasing value of the sovereign for each year from 1951–52 to 1961–62, taking 1951–52 at the basic value of 20s.
Sir E. Boyle
Since U.K. residents are prohibited from possessing sovereigns, except for special purposes, it is unrealistic to attach a purchasing value to them within the United Kingdom. The following table, based on the consumer price index adjusted from calendar to financial years by the index of retail prices, shows changes in the purchasing value of the £ since 1951–52:
| s. | d. | |||
| 1951–52 | … | … | 20 | 0 |
| 1952–53 | … | … | 19 | 3 |
| 1953–54 | … | … | 19 | 1 |
| 1954–55 | … | … | 18 | 7 |
| 1955–56 | … | … | 17 | 11 |
| 1956–57 | … | … | 17 | 3 |
| 1957–58 | … | … | 16 | 9 |
| 1958–59 | … | … | 16 | 4 |
| 1959–60 | … | … | 16 | 5 |
| 1960–61 | … | … | 16 | 2 |
| 1961–62 | … | … | 15 | 8 (provisional) |
| Year | Aged 40–49 | Aged 50–59 | Aged 60 and over | |||||
| Males | Females | Males | Females | Males | Females | |||
| 1952 | … | … | 101 | 120 | 639 | 741 | 12,302 | 16,530 |
| 1953 | … | … | 98 | 107 | 658 | 616 | 12,138 | 16,272 |
| 1954 | … | … | 118 | 102 | 667 | 661 | 12,989 | 17,500 |
| 1955 | … | … | 115 | 112 | 707 | 620 | 13,963 | 18,888 |
| 1956 | … | … | 98 | 113 | 692 | 636 | 13,994 | 19,597 |
| 1957 | … | … | 104 | 110 | 702 | 625 | 14,089 | 20,043 |
| 1958 | … | … | 103 | 90 | 786 | 601 | 14,544 | 20,958 |
| 1959 | … | … | 106 | 77 | 821 | 592 | 14,389 | 21,170 |
| 1960 | … | … | 107 | 73 | 758 | 558 | 14,352 | 21,389 |
| 1961 (provisional) | … | … | 107 | 77 | 807 | 547 | 14,381 | 21,729 |