Pensions: Uprating

(asked on 30th November 2020) - View Source

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that people entering into new index-linked deals are made aware of the proposed changes to the formula for calculating the Retail Price Index, set out in his Department's response to the Consultation on the Reform of RPI Methodology.


Answered by
John Glen Portrait
John Glen
Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
This question was answered on 3rd December 2020

On 25 November, the Government and UK Statistics Authority (UKSA) published their response to the consultation on the timing of reform to the Retail Prices Index (RPI). Owing to shortcomings in its calculation, UKSA intends to bring the methods and data sources of the Consumer Prices Index including owner occupiers’ housing costs (CPIH) into RPI.

The Government and UKSA engaged directly with a number of users and stakeholders to discuss the consultation. The consultation response document has been published and is available on the Government and UKSA’s websites, as below:

- https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/a-consultation-on-the-reform-to-retail-prices-index-rpi-methodology

- https://uksa.statisticsauthority.gov.uk/news/response-to-the-joint-consultation-on-reforming-the-methodology-of-the-retail-prices-index/

Under legislation, how RPI is changed is a matter for UKSA alone. This reflects the important principle established in the Act that UKSA’s judgement on statistics should be independent of Government. After expert advice from the National Statistician and following public consultation, UKSA intends to address the shortcomings in RPI by bringing in the methods and data sources of CPIH. This intended approach was made public in September 2019. Following consultation, UKSA confirmed publicly that the change proposed can legally and practically be made by UKSA in February 2030. It is the role of UKSA – as set out in legislation - to promote and safeguard official statistics.

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