asked the Secretary of State for Social Services whether he intends that the index for pensions should continue to be the current general index of retail prices rather than any other index; if he will list the component parts of that index; and whether he has any proposals to change them in so far as they relate to the payment of pensions.

My right hon. Friend has no plans to alter the accepted method of determining whether retirement pensions have retained their value in relation to the general level of prices, as reflected in the general index of retail prices. The components of household expenditure covered by the general index of retail prices and the weight accorded to each component are set out in Table 3 of page 241 of the Department of Employment's Gazette for March 1979, a copy of which is available in the Library of the House. The compilation of that index is a matter for my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Employment.