§ 27. Mr. William Hamiltonasked the Secretary of State for Scotland what has been the increase in public spending on housing, education, health, roads, and in the Highlands in the last four years, as compared with the previous four years, expressed in 1960 prices.
§ Mr. RossFigures cannot be provided at 1960 prices, or for years before 1962–63. I am circulating in the OFFICIAL 464 REPORT figures of public expenditure in Scotland, at current prices, on housing, education, health and roads in the years 1963–64 and 1967–68, and an estimate of the expenditure in the same years in the Highlands and Islands by my Departments and the Forestry Commission.
§ Mr. HamiltonI thank my right hon. Friend for that reply. I am sure that the figures will be extremely satisfactory.
§ Mr. RossI can assure my hon. Friend, if he wants the aggregate figures, that it is an increase between these two years of £228 million.
§ Mr. Wolrige-GordonWill the right hon. Gentleman give some indication by how much his plans have had to be cut back in the last year?
§ Mr. RossWhen we have had to cut back our plans we have given the information to the House straight away.
§ Following are the figures:
| PUBLIC EXPENDITURE IN SCOTLAND | |||
| £m. | |||
| 1963–64 | 1967–68 | Increase | |
| Housing | 120.0 | 196.9 | 76.9 |
| Education (excluding universities) | 128.9 | 186.4 | 57.5 |
| Health (and welfare) | 113.4 | 172.5 | 59.1 |
| Roads (including lighting) | 41.3 | 63.2 | 21.9 |
| EXPENDITURE IN THE HIGHLANDS AND ISLANDS | |||
| Secretary of State's Departments and Forestry Commission | 30.8 | 43.8 | 13.0 |