Below is the text of Mr Major’s written Parliamentary Answer on Interest Rates on 14th November 1988.
Mr. Wray To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what talks he recently had regarding the effects of high interest rates on industry and international trade competition with (a) the Trades Union Congress and (b) the Confederation of British Industry.
Mr. Major None.
Below is the text of Mr Major’s written Parliamentary Answer on GDP (Taxation) on 14th November 1988.
Mr. Ralph Howell To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what percentage of the gross domestic product taxation represented in 1970, 1979, 1984 and 1988.
Mr. Major Information for 1988 is not yet available. Figures for other years are as follows:
Year | Taxes as percentage of GDP (1)
1970 31.8
1979 28.3
1984 31.2
(1) Taxes cover taxes on income, expenditure (including local authority rates) and capital. GDP is GDP(A) at market prices.
Below is the text of Mr Major’s written Parliamentary Answer on Government Expenditure on 14th November 1988.
Mr. Ralph Howell To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what was total Government expenditure for 1960, 1970, 1979, 1984 and 1988; and what percentage of the gross domestic product it represents for each of those years.
Mr. Major The available information is given in the table. Corresponding figures for years before 1963-64 are not readily available on a consistent basis.
Year | General government expenditure in £ billion (1) | Percentage of GDP
1963–64 | 11.3 | 36.25
1970–71 | 21.6 | 40.75
1979–80 | 90.3 | 43.5
1984–85 | 152.8 | 46.25
1988–89 | 186.9 | 39.75
(1) Excluding privatisation proceeds.
Note: The full series is set out in table 1.1 of the 1988 autumn statement.
Below is the text of Mr Major’s written Parliamentary Answer on Labour Statistics on 14th November 1988.
Mr. Ralph Howell To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will state the total number of people employed in nationalised industries in 1979 and at the latest date for which figures are available.
Mr. Major At mid-1979 the figure was 1,849,000 and at mid-1988, 798,000. Of the fall of over 1 million, around 580,000 is attributable to the privatisation of either whole nationalised industries or various subsidiaries.
Below is the text of Mr Major’s written Parliamentary Answer on Planning Regions (Expenditure) on 10th November 1988.
Ms. Quin To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will give the estimated public expenditure in each standard planning region of the United Kingdom arising from the expenditure plans announced in the autumn statement.
Mr. Major Apart from expenditure that is the responsibility of the territorial departments, most public expenditure is planned on a national basis and it is not possible separately to identify expenditure in particular regions.
Below is the text of Mr Major’s written Parliamentary Answer on Science and Technology on 10th November 1988.
Dr. Bray To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much of the difference between the increase he announced in the autumn statement of £120 million in the provision for spending by the Department of Education and Science on science and technology in 1989-90, and the increase of £95 million announced by the Secretary of State for Education and Science in his science budget, is due to the effect of higher prices on the notional allocation to research and development of University Grants Committee expenditure.
Mr. Major [holding answer 9 November 1988]: The difference of £25 million between the two figures includes £13 million of the additional funding provided for universities in 1989-90, and spending of £12 million by the Institute of Plant Science Research following the privatisation of part of the Plant Breeding Institute. It will be for the Universities Funding Council to determine the distribution of funds to the universities, and for the universities to use the cash they receive as effectively as possible. Overall, the total cash available to the Universities Funding Council for recurrent spending in 1989-90 will be £1,672 million, more than 5 per cent. higher than the corresponding figure for 1988-89.
Below is the text of Mr Major’s written Parliamentary Answer on Manufacturing Industry on 10th November 1988.
Mr. Austin Mitchell To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the reason for the real decline in net domestic fixed capital formation in manufacturing industry between 1979 and 1987; what has been the effect on output and employment of the decline in the real fixed capital of manufacturing industry between 1979 and 1987; and what was the corresponding figure for 1974 to 1979.
Mr. Major [holding answer 3 November 1988]: Movements in net domestic fixed capital formation, output, and employment in manufacturing industry reflect many complex factors. But manufacturing investment is likely to grow by 18 per cent. in 1988, and output is expected to rise by 7 per cent.
Below is the text of Mr Major’s written Parliamentary Answer on the Gross Domestic Product Deflator on 10th November 1988.
Dr. Bray To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer by what percentage the gross domestic product deflator assumed for the financial year 1989-90 in table 1 of his autumn statement on public expenditure plans exceeds the gross domestic product deflator assumed for 1989-90 in his autumn statement in 1987.
Mr. Major [holding answer 9 November 1988]: In the 1988 autumn statement, the GDP deflator is assumed to rise by 5 per cent. in 1989-90. The corresponding assumption in the 1987 autumn statement was 3.5 per cent.
Below is the text of Mr Major’s written Parliamentary Answer on Manufacturing (Operating Surplus) on 10th November 1988.
Mr. Austin Mitchell To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer why the net operating surplus in manufacturing fell in 1980 and 1981; whether he will publish in the Official Report tables showing the estimated gross and net operating surpluses as a percentage of, respectively, gross and net added value in (a) manufacturing and (b) industry plus transport and communication for 1987 and his tentative forecast for 1988 on the same basis as in tables 7.1 to 7.4 of the “Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, Historical Statistics 1960-1986”; and to what extent the improvement in the net operating surplus in manufacturing is due to an increase in the return on overseas investment.
Mr. Major Movements in the net operating surplus in manufacturing depend on a number of complex factors. But in 1987 the net rate of return on capital employed was the highest for almost 20 years. And as paragraph 33 of the Industry Act forecast published with my right hon. Friend’s recent autumn statement revealed, net rates of return are expected to improve further in 1988. The national income and expenditure Blue Book 1988 provides further data on the manufacturing industry.
Below is the text of Mr Major’s written Parliamentary Answer on Personal Incomes on 10th November 1988.
Mr. Austin Mitchell To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is his estimate of the percentage of total personal income taken by (a) direct taxes on households and (b) employees’ social security contributions in the current financial year; and if he will provide corresponding figures for 1973.
Mr. Major For 1973 direct taxes paid by the personal sector (both taxes on income and taxes on capital) were equivalent to 12.7 per cent. of personal sector income. Employees’ social security contributions were 2.7 per cent. It is not the practice to publish forecasts of these for the current financial year.