§ Mr. Chris SmithTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will indicate the source and the breakdown of the figures he gave to the Treasury and Civil Service Committee on 9 December 1987, HC 197, Q.152, for the levels of personal sector borrowing other than mortgage borrowing in 1979–80 and 1986–87.
§ Mr. LilleyThe figures quoted to the Committee were for borrowing by the private, not the personal, sector. The same definition was used for chart 2.4 of the 1987 Financial Statement and Budget Report and the supplementary note by the Treasury published as an appendix in the Select Committee's report on the 1987 Budget, although there have been some subsequent minor 725W revisions to the figures. The latter gives the sources of the figures quoted. The private sector includes both the personal sector and industrial and commercial companies. The most recent figures for consumer credit and other personal sector borrowing are contained in table 9.3 of the December 1987 edition of "Financial Statistics". The figures were correctly ascribed to the private sector in the oral evidence. Unfortunately, the reference to the personal sector arose as the result of a later transcription error, of which the Committee has now been informed.