INDEXATION OF PENSIONS AND BENEFITS

Early day motion 1032, tabled 17 November 2010 by John Robertson (Labour). Signed by 134 members.

That this House notes the Government's proposal to use the Consumer Price Index (CPI) rather than the Retail Price Index (RPI) for the price indexation of benefits, tax credits and public service pensions; further notes that the CPI is consistently lower than the RPI; expresses concern over the impact that this will have on the incomes of pensioners and other vulnerable groups; recognises the concerns held by the Royal Statistical Society and the UK Statistics Authority that CPI excludes many housing costs which are borne by the majority of pensioner households; and calls on the Government to take these concerns into account and postpone the change from RPI to CPI until the appropriateness of CPI as a measure of price increases borne by pensioner households can be fully evaluated.

Signatures by party: Labour 107, DUP 7, Liberal Democrat 6, Scottish National Party 5, Plaid Cymru 3, Social Democratic and Labour Party 3, Alliance 1, Green 1, Independent 1.