asked the Minister of Labour whether it is proposed to extend the scope of the half-yearly inquiry into the average earnings of manual workers so as to bring more industries within its scope.

I am looking into the possibility of establishing a regular earnings inquiry in the distributive trades.

I understand that in the present figures that the Minister takes, industries like transport and agriculture are not included. I should have thought that one would have got a more realistic figure if the earnings were taken further across the board. Would my right hon. Friend look at that suggestion? Further, can he tell me what he, or his Department, thinks would be the difference in the present earnings figure if it had been taker across a wider field?

It is difficult to give any precise indication on the second part of my hon. Friend's supplementary question. On his first point, although we have inquiries covering a very wide number of industries, there are also certain other industries—such as agriculture, coal mining, railways and docks—that are not specifically covered but which give us certain information. This is made available from time to time and published in the Ministry of Labour Gazette. We therefore have a fair coverage across the field.