HC Deb 14 October 1996 vol 282 c701W
Mr. Austin Mitchell

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the cost of servicing the national debt in each of the next five years. [40211]

Mrs. Angela Knight

In the 1995 "Financial Statement and Budget Report", central Government gross debt interest payments were forecast as follows:

  • 1996–97: £26.5 billion
  • 1997–98: £28.0 billion
  • 1998–99: £27.9 billion
  • 1999–20001: £28 billion
  • 2000–20011: £27 billion
'As in the Red Book, these forecasts are rounded to the nearest £ billion.

In the 1996 "Summer Economic Forecast", central Government gross debt interest payments for 1996–97 and 1997–98 were revised to £26.7 billion and £29.4 billion respectively.