asked the Secretary of State for Employment what effect a one penny, five pence and 10 pence increase, respectively, per gallon on the retail price of petrol and diesel oil would have on the cost of living index, if the whole of these costs are passed on to the consumer of the goods and services.

The direct effect on the retail prices index of increases in the retail price of petrol would be as follows:

increase in price	increase in Index Retail Prices
1p per gallon	0·07 per cent.
5p per gallon	0·35 per cent.
10p per gallon	0·7 per cent.

Diesel oil is not included in the index.It is not possible to make precise estimates of the indirect effect on prices of other goods and services.