Tag: 1987

Below is the text of Mr Major’s written Parliamentary Answer on Labour Statistics on 18th December 1987.

Mr. Wray Asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to his reply of 14 December, Official Report, column 374, how many people in Scotland were working, for each year since 1983, in (a) industrial cleaning, (b) computer services and (c) road haulage.

Mr. Major I regret that the information is only available for 1984, from the census of employment. In September 1984 the number of employees in employment in Scotland in industrial and commercial cleaning services totalled 15,000, in computer services 2,800, and in road haulage 19,400.

Below is the text of Mr Major’s written Parliamentary Answer on Overseas Assets on 18th December 1987.

Mr. Chris Smith To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if, pursuant to the answer of 9 December,Official Report, column 165, he will indicate what information of any kind is available as to the current or recent pound sterling value of British-owned assets held abroad.

Mr. Major Figures for the level of United Kingdom overseas assets at the end of 1986 may be found in the United kingdom balance of payments (Pink Book) 1987 edition. The latest issue of the Bank of England Quarterly Bulletin contains information on United Kingdom banks’ assets overseas as at the end of June 1987. Data on flows of United Kingdom investment overseas during the first three quarters of 1987 were included in the quarterly balance of payments press notice published by the Central Statistical Office on 15 December 1987.

Below is the text of Mr Major’s written Parliamentary Answer on Government Manpower on 17th December 1987.

Mr. Patrick Thompson To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what was the number of staff in post in central Government Departments at 1 October.

Mr. Major At 1 October 1987 there were 585,070 staff in post in central Government Departments. Of these, 509,133 were non-industrials and 75,937 were industrials.

Below is the text of Mr Major’s written Parliamentary Answer on Nationalised Industries on 17th December 1987.

Mr. Oppenheim To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on the accounting policies of nationalised industries in the light of the discussions which have taken place on the report, “Accounting for Economic Costs and Changing Prices”, published in August 1986.

Mr. Major Successive Governments have pointed out the desirability of making due allowance for changing prices in company accounts. This is particularly important in businesses where, as in a number of the nationalised industries, assets are long lived and where rates of return based on historic cost arc inadequate as measures of economic performance.

The nationalised industries have been at the forefront of the application of current cost accounting. The Government have welcomed this and note that some of the industries that have been privatised, in particular those subject to regulation, have decided to maintain current cost accounts. We have noted that the Director General of Telecommunications has proposed that British Telecommunications should publish information on current cost profits.

When the Government published the report of the advisory group, “Accounting for Economic Costs and Changing Prices” they said that sponsor Departments and the Treasury would discuss the general principles described in the report, their merits and their practical application with individual nationalised industries, the nationalised industries’ chairmen’s group and other interested parties. Discussions with the individual industries and with the chairmen’s group have now taken place. There have also been comments by the accountancy bodies and wider discussions.

These discussions have been at a technical level throughout. The majority of corporations have recognised the need to measure economic costs and have indicated ways in which some of the recommendations in the report to that end need modification for practical application. Suggestions have also been made as to how some of the recommendations might he further developed. The discussions have identified certain problems which require further study. They have shown the conditions under which modified historical cost accounts can he used to measure economic performance. These are that in those accounts the revaluations should cover all assets and be regularly updated, and that revalued assets are consistently treated in both the profit and loss account and balance sheet.

The discussions have underlined the importance of the distinction made in the report between industries with a substantial degree of influence over their prices – the “price-makers”; and industries whose prices are determined in competitive markets – the “price-takers”. The Government are satisfied with the outcome of the discussions and do not propose to take any immediate action. The discussions have been useful in confirming that the present accounting policies of nationalised industries go a long way towards the objective of providing measures of economic costs and that some further progress is in prospect. Present accounting policies should be maintained and reviewed in a year or two so that they continue to develop in ways which fulfil this objective.

Below is the text of Mr Major’s written Parliamentary Answer on Privatisation on 16th December 1987.

Mr. Butler To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many employees have been in enterprises transferred from the public to the private sector in the United Kingdom since May 1979.

Mr. Major Around 655,000 employees have been in enterprises transferred from the public to the private sector in the United Kingdom since May 1979.

Below is the text of Mr Major’s written Parliamentary Answer on Employment on 14th December 1987.

Mr. Adley To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the effect of the recent fall of share prices on the level of employment; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Major The forecast published in the Autumn Statement took account of the fall in world stock markets. While this inevitably made the prospect more uncertain, growth of 2.5 per cent. (3 per cent. for the non-oil economy) was forecast, holding out the prospect of further falls in unemployment.

Below is the text of Mr Major’s written Parliamentary Answer on Public Expenditure on 10th December 1987.

Mr. Salmond To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer why he does not include defence procurement expenditure in tables showing identifiable public expenditure by function in England, Northern Ireland, Wales and Scotland.

Mr. Major Defence procurement expenditure is deemed to have been incurred on behalf of the United Kingdom as a whole and it is, therefore, not appropriate to allocate it to an individual country in tables showing identifiable public expenditure by function and territory.

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

Mr. Chris Smith To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is his estimate of the sterling value of British-owned assets held abroad (a) in the United States of America and (b) elsewhere, as at 16 October 1987, and on 7 December 1987.

Mr. Major [holding answer 7 December 1987]: I regret that the information is not available.

Below is the text of Mr Major’s written Parliamentary Answer on Distribution of Income on 9th December 1987.

Mr. Frank Field To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when the figures on the distribution of income in the United Kingdom for 1984-85 will be published.

Mr. Major The estimates for the distribution of income in the United Kingdom for 1984-85 are to appear in the November issue of Economic Trends, which is expected to be published on Friday 18 December.

Below is the text of Mr Major’s written Parliamentary Answer on Child Benefit on 9th December 1987.

Mr. Frank Field To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will examine the possibility of reclassifying as a child tax relief that part of child benefit received by families who pay more in income tax than they receive in child benefit.

Mr. Major No. Payments made by the Government are usually treated as public expenditure rather than negative taxation unless the payments are an integral part of the tax system. The definition of public expenditure used in the public expenditure White Paper follows in the main national accounting conventions which in turn follow international guidelines.