§ Mr. Lomasasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list in the OFFICIAL REPORT the costs of defence as a percentage of Government expenditure for each year from 1950 to 1966.
§ Mr. DiamondThe following figures show expenditure on military defence as a percentage of total central government expenditure from 1950 to 1966:
Per cent. 1950 … … … 21.3 1951 … … … 24.1 1952 … … … 29.2 1953 … … … 30.1 1954 … … … 29.8 1955 … … … 26.6 1956 … … … 27.3 1957 … … … 24.8 1958 … … … 22.9 1959 … … … 22.0 1960 … … … 21.6 1961 … … … 21.1 1962 … … … 21.6 1963 … … … 21.1 1964 … … … 20.2 1965 … … … 18.9 1966 … … … 18.1 NOTES:
Military defence is as defined for the purposes of the national accounts, and differs slightly from the scope of the Defence Budget.
Central Government expenditure covers all current and capital expenditure, including grants and loans to the rest of the public sector, and debt interest. Bookkeeping transactions in connection with writing off debts have been omitted.