asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what has been, at the latest available date, the percentage decrease in the value of the £ sterling for each of the years since 1961.

It is estimated that the percentage decreases in the internal purchasing power of the pound compared with the previous year were as follows:

	per cent.
1962	3½
1963	2
1964	3
1965	4½
1966	4
1967	2½
1968	4½
1969	5
1970	6
1971	8½
1972	6½
1973	8½

These estimates are based on the change in the consumers' expenditure deflator between 1961 and 1962 and the changes in the annual averages of the General Index of Retail Prices for other years.