To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the inflation rate was for (a) the public sector and (b) the private sector in each of the last 12 months. [101280]

Public and private sector inflation, as measured by the implied Government and private consumption deflators respectively, are not available on a monthly basis as they are derived from quarterly nominal and real consumption data. The latest data were published by the Office for National Statistics in the First Release on UK output, income and expenditure for the fourth quarter of 2002 on 26 February 2003.