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Below is the text of Mr Major’s written Parliamentary Answer on Inflation on 17th July 1987.

Mr. Galbraith Asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assumptions his Department has made about the rate of inflation for 1988, 1989 and 1990.

Mr. Major The Financial Statement and Budget Report published in March 1987 contains assumptions for inflation as measured by the GDP deflator for the financial years 1988-89 to 1990-91, together with forecasts for growth in the GDP deflator in 1987-88 and for the retail prices index up to the second quarter of 1988. These figures are presented as follows:

Inflation (percentage change on a year earlier)

Year | GDP deflator Forecast
1987-88 | 4.5
1988-89 | 4.0
1989-90 | 3.5
1990-91 | 3.0

RPI
1987 4th quarter | 4.0
1988 2nd quarter | 4.0

Below is the text of Mr Major’s written Parliamentary Answer on Departmental Staff on 16th July 1987.

Mr. John Townend Asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what was the number of staff-in-post in central Government Departments at 1 April.

Mr. Major At 1 April 1987 there were 597,814 staff in post in central Government Departments. Of these, 507,460 were non-industrials and 90,354 were industrials.

Below is the text of Mr Major’s written Parliamentary Answer on Industrial Production on 9th July 1987.

Miss Emma Nicholson Asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is his latest estimate of the level of industrial production.

Mr. Major I refer my hon. Friend to the reply my hon. Friend the Economic Secretary gave earlier today to my hon. Friend the Member for Esher (Mr. Taylor).

Below is the text of Mr Major’s written Parliamentary Answer on Overseas Assets on 9th July 1987.

Mr. Quentin Davies Asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on the present level of net United Kingdom assets overseas.

Mr. Hannam Asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on the present level of net United Kingdom assets overseas.

Mr. Major Net United Kingdom overseas assets are estimated to have increased from about £80 billion at the end of 1985 to about £110 billion at the end of 1986. This is equivalent to 28 per cent. of GDP, the highest recorded level since the war.

Below is the text of Mr Major’s written Parliamentary Answer on the Public Sector Borrowing Requirement on 9th July 1987.

Mr. Yeo Asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is his latest forecast for the public sector borrowing requirement for 1987-88.

Mr. Major The figure is £3.9 billion, or 1 per cent. of GDP – as published in the “Financial Statement and Budget Report” for 1987-88.

Below is the text of Mr Major’s written Parliamentary Answer on Unemployment Costs on 9th July 1987.

Mr. Nigel Griffiths Asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he will provide an estimate of the cost of unemployment in Scotland.

Mr. Major I regret that regional figures for benefit expenditure on the unemployed are not available.

Below is the text of Mr Major’s written Parliamentary Answer on Oil Prices on 9th July 1987.

Mr. Salmond Asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is his Department’s current assessment of the impact of lower oil prices on the United Kingdom’s economy.

Mr. Major Individuals and companies are benefiting from lower fuel costs and the manufacturing sector is already responding to the competitiveness gains which have occurred.

Below is the text of Mr Major’s written Parliamentary Answer on Public Expenditure on 9th July 1987.

Mr. Ralph Howell Asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is his latest estimate of general Government expenditure as a proportion of gross domestic product.

Mr. Couchman Asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is his latest estimate of general Government expenditure as a proportion of gross domestic product.

Mr. Major General government expenditure represented just under 43 per cent. of gross domestic product in 1986-87.

Mr. Rowe Asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is his latest estimate of central Government expenditure as a proportion of gross domestic product.

Mr. Major The normal measure for assessing trends in public spending is general government expenditure as a percentage of GDP. The latest estimate for that in 1986-87 is 43 per cent. The figure for central Government expenditure is 32 per cent.

Below is the text of Mr Major’s written Parliamentary Answer on Manufacturing Industry on 9th July 1987.

Mr. Bruce Asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the current projected deficit in manufactured goods compared with the estimates at the time of the last Budget.

Mr. Major The performance so far in 1987 has been better than implied at Budget time; in the four months to April the trade deficit in manufactures fell by £1.1 billion compared to the last four months of 1986. A new forecast will be published in the usual way at the time of the autumn statement.

Below is the text of Mr Major’s written Parliamentary Answer on Economic Growth on 9th July 1987.

Mr. Wilkinson Asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer how the growth of economic output in the United Kingdom since 1983 compares with that of other major industrialised countries.

Mr. Major Since 1983 output in the United Kingdom has grown faster than in any other major European economy.

Mr. John Hunt Asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is his latest estimate of the growth of the output in the economy.

Mr. Gwilym Jones Asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is his latest estimate of the growth of output in the economy.

Mr. Major Measured at 1980 prices, the average estimate of gross domestic product at factor cost is provisionally estimated to have risen by 3.5 per cent. in the year to the first quarter of 1987.