§ Hywel WilliamsTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the most recent estimates are for GDP growth for(a) the UK, (b) England, (c) Scotland, (d) Northern Ireland, (e) Wales and (f) each EU Objective 1 area. [66165]
§ Ruth KellyThe information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician. I have asked him to reply.
Letter from Karen Dunnell to Mr. Hywel Williams, dated 8 July 2002:
The National Statistician has been asked to reply to your recent question on estimates of GDP growth of the countries and EU Objective 1 areas of the United Kingdom. I am replying in his absence. (66165)Growth rates are normally calculated on the basis of data at constant prices. However, regional GDP data are only available on a current price basis, in the absence of regional deflators. The growth rates shown in the table below will therefore include the effects of inflation.The latest GDP estimates for the countries of the United Kingdom and the English regions are available up to 1999, and for the sub-regions (NUTS-2 areas) up to 1998. These data form the basis for the growth rates shown in table 1 below. The sub-regions Merseyside; South Yorkshire; Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly; and West Wales and the Valleys are the four UK areas that currently have full Objective 1 status. Northern Ireland and the Highlands and Islands did not qualify for Objective I funding in the current round but are in receipt of transitional funding and are included for completeness.Data up to 2000 are expected to be published at the end of 2002.The data referred to in this answer are available in the House of Commons Library and on the web at http://www.statistics.gov.uk/ regionalaccounts.
Table 1: Gross domestic product, current basic prices, £ million Year-on-year percentage increase Provisional 1996 1997 1998 1999 United Kingdom1 5.7 6.5 6.1 3.8 Countries of the United Kingdom1 England 6.1 7.1 6.2 3.9 Scotland 3.0 2.3 6.0 3.1 Wales 4.0 3.7 5.5 3.9 Northern Ireland2 4.5 6.8 3.4 3.0 Objective 1 areas Merseyside 4.4 4.6 5.0 3— South Yorkshire 6.6 7.1 4.7 3— Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly 8.0 7.6 5.7 3— West Wales and the Valleys 5.0 4.0 4.6 3— Transition areas Highlands and Islands 1.3 2.8 4.7 3— Northern Ireland2 4.5 6.8 3.4 3.0 1 Excluding Extra-Regio and the Statistical Discrepancy 2 Northern Ireland is both a NUTS-1 and NUTS-2 area 3 n/a