Reviews of the RPI and the Loss of National Statistics Status

This chapter describes the dramatic events of the period 2008 to 2016 when the difference between the Retail Prices Index (RPI) and the Consumer Prices Index (CPI) came to broad public attention. Two factors drove this. Firstly, a change to clothing price collection instructions unexpectedly widened the RPI—CPI gap and secondly, the government changed the indexing measure for many benefits and pensions from the RPI to the CPI, thereby reducing annual adjustments. This combination resulted in calls for a thorough review of how inflation was measured. An intense period of investigation followed with input from independent experts and several public consultations. This led to the UK Statistics Authority declaring the RPI “a poor measure of inflation”. The RPI lost its National Statistics status and its use was strongly discouraged.