§ Mr. Laurence RobertsonTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what percentage of government spending is allocated to the welfare state in(a) the United Kingdom, (b) each European Union country and (c) each G7 country. [23359]
§ Mr. Darling[holding answer 19 January 1998]: The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) regularly publishes the available statistics for member states. The latest edition of the OECD book "National Accounts", published in 1997, contains separate sections on each country to a consistent format. In each, Table 5 covers total government outlays by function and type. A copy is available in the Library of the House.