Mr Major’s Written Parliamentary Answer on Public Expenditure – 4 July 1988

Below is the text of Mr Major’s written Parliamentary Answer on Public Expenditure on 4th July 1988.

Mr. Cran To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much public expenditure, expressed in per capita terms, was devoted to Scotland in each of the past 10 years, and what were the comparable per capita figures for (a) England, and (b) Yorkshire and Humberside.

Mr. Major The following table shows identifiable public expenditure, expressed in per capita terms, for Scotland and England:

Year | Scotland | England (in £ per head)
1982–83 | 1,965.8 | 1,544.8
1983–84 | 20,77.9 | 1,647.9
1984–85 | 2,200.8 | 1,758.2
1985–86 | 2,332.3 | 1,844.7
1986–87 | 2,518.5 | 1,967.7

The term “identifiable expenditure” refers to expenditure that can he identified from official records as having been incurred in a particular country. Total identifiable expenditure accounts for just over 80 per cent. of total public departmental expenditure: it excludes expenditure on defence, overseas aid and other overseas services which are deemed to have been incurred on behalf of the United Kingdom as a whole. It also excludes Government net lending to, and the market and overseas borrowing of, the public corporations (including nationalised industries), due to the difficulty of allocating this finance to expenditure in a particular country.
Figures prior to 1982–83 are not available on a consistent basis because of changes in definition that have taken place between different public expenditure White Papers. Figures for Yorkshire and Humberside are not available.

Mr. Madel To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he expects to alter his Budget strategy and his proposed public expenditure targets for 1988–89 and 1989–90 because of the likely effect of the present drought in the United States of America on British food prices; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Major No.