To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will publish the retail prices index for (a) goods other than food, fuel and alcoholic drink and (b) services for each year since 1987 and for each month since August 1992; and what were the increases for the same periods in (i) earnings of manual workers in manufacturing industry, (ii) earnings of white-collar workers in the private sector and (iii) producer prices for manufacturing.
The information for (a) and (b) is not available in the form requested and can only be produced at disproportionate cost.The following table gives average gross weekly earnings of full time employees on adult rates with pay not affected by absence for April each year.
| Manual employees in manufacturing | Non-manuals in private sector | |||
| April | Mean (£) | Increase over 12 months (per cent.) | Mean (£) | Increase over 12 months (per cent.) |
| 1986 | 169·6 | — | 203·9 | — |
| 1987 | 181·1 | 6·8 | 222·8 | 8·7 |
| 1988 | 195·5 | 8·0 | 247·6 | 11·0 |
| 1989 | 212·1 | 8·5 | 272·3 | 9·8 |
| 1990 | 231·1 | 9·0 | 300·2 | 10·2 |
| 1991 | 241·9 | 4·3 | 318·2 | 7·6 |
| 1992 | 258·9 | 7·0 | 337·9 | 6·2 |
Source: New Earnings Survey.
The data for producer prices (home sales) for all manufacturing industries are as shown:
Index (1985 = 100)
| Percentage increase on year earlier
| |
| 1987 | 108·3 | 3·8 |
| 1988 | 113·2 | 4·5 |
| 1989 | 119·0 | 5·1 |
| 1990 | 126·0 | 5·9 |
| 1991 | 133·0 | 5·6 |
| 1992 | 138·0 | 3·8 |
| August 1992 | 138·5 | 3·4 |
| September 1992 | 138·6 | 3·4 |
| October 1992 | 138·7 | 3·3 |
| November 1992 | 139·2 | 3·3 |
| December 1992 | 139·5 | 3·5 |
| January 1993 | 140·7 | 3·6 |
| February 1993 | 141·4 | 3·7 |
| March 1993 | 1 142·4 | 1 3·7 |
| April 1993 | 1 143·0 | 1 3·8 |
1 Provisional. | ||