§ Mr. Woofasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the present total of the National Debt; and from information available from international sources, how this compares on a per capita basis with the equivalent figures for other member countries of the European Economic Community.
§ Mr. Robert SheldonInformation on public sector debt is not available from international sources. The following estimates of central Government debt per head have been derived from national statistical publications and from population estimates included in the OECD's "Main Economic Indicators" 493W —November 1974 issue. The table contains estimates of National Debt for the, United Kingdom as no separate figures are available for Great Britain.
Estimates of central Government debt per head (£ sterling or sterling equivalent) Central Government debt outstanding per head at end-March 1974 United Kingdom … … … 720 France … … … 150 West Germany … … … 290 Belgium … … … 910 Netherlands … … … 450 Italy … … … 250 USA … … … 960 Japan … … … 180 Sweden … … … 610 Debt is shown at nominal values, converted into sterling at market rates of exchange. It should be noted that the figures are affected by differences in the pattern of financing of local authorities and public trading enterprises, by the inclusion of official holdings of debt and by inclusion or otherwise of Government-controlled credit institutions. Comparisons between countries therefore require great caution.