Tag: 1988

Below is the text of Mr Major’s written Parliamentary Answer on Net Overseas Assets on 13th July 1988.

Mr. Roger King To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what are the most recently available figures for Britain’s net overseas assets.

Mr. Major The United Kingdom’s net overseas assets were estimated at some £90 billion at end of 1987, second only to those of Japan.

Below is the text of Mr Major’s written Parliamentary Answer on Public Corporations on 11th July 1988.

Mr. Gordon Brown To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will publish in the Official Report a table showing for the end of each year from 1979 to 1986 the totals for the public corporations which were at the end of 1986 classified as still being within the public sector for (a) tangible assets, (b) financial assets and (c) financial liabilities, as shown in table 11.6 of the “United Kingdom National Accounts” 1987 edition, breaking down the figures for financial assets and liabilities between (a) claims on or liabilities to central Government and (b) other claims or liabilities.

Mr. Major The components of each series are not readily available broken down by individual corporation. It would therefore be disproportionately costly to identify totals for 1979 to 1985 covering those corporations still classified as being in the public sector in 1986.

Below is the text of Mr Major’s written Parliamentary Answer on Departmental Budgeting on 7th July 1988.

Mr. David Martin To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what progress has been made in implementing the recommendations of the multi-department review of budgeting following the then Chief Secretary’s announcement of 29 April 1986, Official Report, column 371.

Mr. Major Departments were asked to draw up action plans for achieving the four principles highlighted by my predecessor and by the Prime Minister in her foreword to the 1986 report. A report has been prepared which shows that, overall, Departments have made good progress in implementing its recommendations. Thirteen Departments have arrangements in place which meet all four of the principles in respect of all or nearly all of their running costs and programme expenditure. Another 16 have satisfactory arrangements for at least two of the four principles. In a number of Departments further work needs to be done, particularly in the field of output and performance measures, as a contribution to the continuing drive to improve financial management. This work will provide an important contribution to the development of policy and resource frameworks for executive agencies under the arrangements announced by the Prime Minister on 18 February 1988 at column 1149.

I am today arranging for copies of the second report on the implementation of the recommendations of the multi-department review of budgeting to be placed in the Library of the House.

Below is the text of Mr Major’s written Parliamentary Answer on Unit Labour Costs on 7th July 1988.

Mrs. Virginia Bottomley To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on the current level of increase in unit labour costs.

Mr. Major The latest figures show that in the fourth quarter of 1987 unit labour costs for the whole economy rose by 3.9 per cent. over the previous year. In the three months ending April 1988, manufacturing unit wage and salary costs rose by 3.2 per cent. over the previous year.

Below is the text of Mr Major’s written Parliamentary Answer on Government Expenditure on 7th July 1988.

Mr. Andrew Mitchell To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) what is the percentage of value added by the farming industry which is accounted for by public money; (2) what is the percentage of value added by the manufacturing industry which is accounted for by public money; (3) what is the percentage of value added by the service industry which is accounted for by public money; (4) what is the percentage of value added by the coal industry which is accounted for by public money.

Mr. John Major The table shows general Government expenditure in each sector as a percentage of each sector’s contribution to gross domestic product. The information is drawn from the United Kingdom national accounts 1987 (CSO) except for the coal industry figures, which are based on Treasury estimates. I regret that more recent compatible data are not yet available. The information is subject to revision.
The figures for agriculture underestimate the true level of support, as they relate solely to expenditure by the Government and by the European Community and do not include costs borne by the consumer of holding CAP support prices above the levels obtainable on world markets. These agricultural estimates, together with those for the coal industry, are further understated because they are calculated using gross domestic product based on United Kingdom supported prices rather than value added at world market prices.

The figure for the coal industry in 1984 is heavily distorted by the loss in output resulting from the miners’ strike. The below table represents General Government expenditure as a percentage of gross domestic product by industry grouping.

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.

Below is the text of Mr Major’s written Parliamentary Answer on the Gross Domestic Product on 4th July 1988.

Sir Ian Gilmour To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if, in the light of the recent publication by his Department of the medium term financial strategy assumptions since 1980 relating to money gross domestic product, he will provide all the parallel assumptions relating to real gross domestic product, personal consumption, manufacturing and total private investment, the balance of payments and unemployment.

Mr. Major Medium term financial strategy assumptions since 1980 for the growth of real gross domestic product can he found in successive financial statement and budget reports, which also include short term forecasts for, inter alia, consumers’ expenditure, investment and the current account of the balance of payments. Unemployment assumptions based on the convention of a flat path over the medium term have been published in successive public expenditure White Papers.