Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, for what reason is the Government abolishing the Retail Price Index by 2030.

The decision over how to reform Retail Prices Index (RPI) was not one made by HM Treasury or the Government. It is a matter for the independent UK Statistics Authority (UKSA), whose role – as set out in legislation – is to promote and safeguard official statistics.

The UKSA has set out plans to reform RPI by bringing in the methods and data sources of the Consumer Prices Index including Owner Occupier Housing Costs (CPIH). This will happen from 2030.

The Government agrees with UKSA that RPI is a flawed measure of inflation, which at times overstates and at times understates changes in prices. RPI’s shortcomings are well-documented. In 2013, as a result of flaws in the way it is measured, RPI lost its status as a National Statistic.

Since 2010 the Government has been reducing its use of RPI and has committed to not introduce any new uses of RPI.