Public Sector Borrowing Requirement

HC Deb 23 April 1998 vol 310 c696W

28. Mr. Charles Clarke

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement about the definition of the public sector borrowing requirement. [38272]

Mr. Darling

The public sector borrowing requirement measures borrowing by the whole public sector from the private sector and overseas.

33. Mr. White

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the definition of the public sector borrowing requirement used in other European Union countries; and what plans he has for changes to the UK's PSBR definition. [38277]

Mr. Gordon Brown

Other EU Member States use a range of definitions of government borrowing. There will be a number of small technical changes to the definition of the PSBR later this year resulting from the construction of national accounts according to the definitions in the European System of Accounts 1995 (ESA95). These changes were set out in Annexe B of the March 1998Financial Statement and Budget Report.