§ Mr. Gowasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whose authority or consent is required before the public sector debt is increased; and what is the procedure for granting such authority or consent.
§ Mr. Joel BarnettI will let the hon. Member have a reply as soon as possible.
§ Mr. Radiceasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the latest estimate of the public sector borrowing require- 476W ment of the following countries: West Germany, Japan, France, Italy and the United States of America.
§ Mr. Joel Barnett, pursuant to his reply [Official Report, 4th May 1976; Vol 910, c. 318], gave the following information
Other countries do not present a public sector borrowing requirement in the United Kingdom sense. Some limited comparison can, however, be made by using the concept of the financial balance of the general Government sector defined in the United Nations System of National Accounts. For estimates on this basis I refer my hon. Friend to my reply to the hon. Member for Kingston-upon-Thames (Mr. Lamont) on 13th April 1976.—[Vol. 909, c. 429.]
§ Mr. Radiceasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will express his Budget estimate of the public sector borrowing requirement as a percentage of gross national product and per head of population for the United Kingdom; and if he will give comparable figures for West Germany, Japan, France, Italy and the United States of America.
§ Mr. Joel Barnett, pursuant to his reply [Official Report, 4th May 1976; Vol 910, 318–9], gave the following information
For the first part of the Question, I refer my hon. Friend to my reply to the hon. Member for Kingston-upon-Thames (Mr. Lamont) on 29th April 1976.—[Vol. 910, c. 185]—The Budget estimate of the public sector borrowing requirement is equivalent to about £215 per head of population. Comparable figures for public sector borrowing requirements in other countries are not available.