Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government when the list of items used to calculate the core inflation figure were last reviewed.

The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority.

Please see the letter attached from the National Statistician and Chief Executive of the UK Statistics Authority.

The Rt Hon. the Lord Naseby

House of Lords

London

SW1A 0PW

05 June 2023

Dear Lord Naseby,

As National Statistician and Chief Executive of the UK Statistics Authority, I am responding to your Parliamentary Question asking when the list of items used to calculate the core inflation figure were last reviewed (HL8157).

The list of items used to calculate Consumer Prices Index (CPI) and Consumer Prices Index, including owner occupiers’ Housing costs (CPIH), and their core equivalents, is updated on an annual basis.

Prices were first collected for the most recent update in January this year. In 2023, 26 items were added to the CPIH basket, including e-bikes and frozen berries. 16 items were removed, including digital compact cameras and non-chart CD albums bought in store.

Further information can be found in our Consumer price inflation basket of goods and services: 2023 release [1].

Yours sincerely,

Professor Sir Ian Diamond

[1] https://www.ons.gov.uk/economy/inflationandpriceindices/articles/ukconsumerpriceinflationbasketofgoodsandservices/2023