National Statistician gives evidence on use of retail price index
17 July 2018
The Economic Affairs Committee questions John Pullinger CB, UK National Statistician, on the use of the retail price index (RPI) as a measure of inflation. The case for altering or abandoning the indices will be considered. The evidence session is the latest in the Committee's current inquiry into the use of RPI.
Witness
Tuesday 17 July in Committee Room 1, Palace of Westminster
At 4.30pm
- John Pullinger CB (UK National Statistician, Head of the Government Statistical Service and Chief Executive of the UK Statistics Authority)
Likely questions
- Following the Chief Secretary of the Treasury's comments to this Committee last week, will the UK Statistics Authority now consider proposing changes to RPI?
- How strong is the intellectual case against RPI?
- Is there a case for a full review of the collection of prices and the formulas used in the CPI and the RPI?
- If RPI is reformed, should the Government still be advised to stop using it? How substantial would changes to the RPI need to be for it to be considered a good measure of inflation?
- Can you explain what work the Office for National Statistics is doing on the treatment of student loans in the national accounts and what the work was prompted by?
Call for evidence
The Committee has a call for evidence open until 25 July. If you are interested in the issues raised by this evidence session or the use of RPI inquiry, we would be interested in hearing from you.
Further information
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