§ Mr. Gowasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what was the total amount of interest paid on public sector debt during the year ended 5th April 1976; and what were the comparable figures for each of the past 30 years.
§ Mr. Joel BarnettThe following table shows public sector debt interest payments since 1946. Financial year estimates are not available before 1961–62.
£ million 1946 536 1947 567 1948 600 1949 626 1950 631 1951 688 1952 760 1953 801 1954 816 1955 904 1956 925 1957 947 1958 1,042 1959 1,060 1960 1,165 1961 1,257 1961–62 1,283 1962–63 1,271 1963–64 1,315 1964–65 1,379 1965–66 1,470 1966–67 1,592 1967–68 1,811 1968–69 1,941 1969–70 2,066 1970–71 2,129 1971–72 2,302 1972–73 2,507 1973–74 3,219 1974–75 3,916 1975–76* 4,845 *Estimated outturn as shown in Table 5 of Financial Statement and Budget Report 1976–77. The figures for 1955 onwards are taken from Economic Trends Annual Supplement for December 1975 updated by Economic Trends, April 1976.