asked the Secretary of State for Prices and Consumer Protection (1) if he will list in ascending order the percentage change in food prices from February 1974 to the latest available date in Canada, France, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, the United States and West Germany;(2) if he will list in ascending order the percentage change in prices from February 1974 to the latest available date in Canada, France, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, the United States and West Germany.

The cumulative increases as requested are given below. As the overall figures conceal differing trends over time, the latest annual increases are also given. These illustrate the marked reduction in the rate of increase for the United Kingdom relative to that for other countries; the latest available information for the United Kingdom indicates a further fall. In the year to September 1978 the retail price index rose by 7·8 per cent., and food prices by 7·2 per cent. The comparisons of increases in food prices are further complicated in that the inclusion of alcoholic drinks and tobacco varies between countries.