asked the Secretary of State for Prices and Consumer Protection if she will publish a table showing the current price of butter, cheese, milk, bread, household flour, lamb, beef, tea, sugar, margarine, jam, tinned pears and beer indicating how this compares with each of the past three years and showing against each item, where appropriate, the amount of Government subsidy.
Average retail prices in December, the latest month for which information is available, are published in the January 1976 issue of the Department of Employment Gazette. The issues of February 1973, February 1974 and January 1975 give prices for the Decembers of earlier years. Comparable retail prices for jam, tinned pears and beer are not published.The value of subsidies, at the retail level, in December was as follows:
Butter, 9p(1) per pound
Cheese, 12p(2) per pound
Tea, 2p per quarter pound
Milk, 2p per pint
Flour, 3p per 3lb bag
Bread, 2p per large loaf; 1p per small loaf
(1) In addition, a subsidy equivalent to 2p per pound is received from FEOGA (EEC).
(2) On 25th January 1976 the subsidy on cheese was cut by the equivalent of 2p per pound at the retail level.