asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer, taking the value of the £ sterling as 100 on 1st January 1930, what was its value on the 1st January 1931, 1932, 1940, 1950, 1960, 1970 and 1975, respectively.

Taking the internal purchasing power of the £ as 100p in 1930, its value is estimated to have been

• 107p in 1931.
• 110p in 1932.
• 101p in 1938^*.
• 49p in 1950.
• 35p in 1960.
• 25p in January 1970.
• 15p in November 1974 (the latest available date).
• ^* Information for 1940 is not available.

The basis for these estimates is given in "The Internal Purchasing Power of the Pound", a leaflet released by the Press and Information Service of the Central Statistical Office.