§ Mr. Lawsonasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the figures would be if he were convert the bottom line of the table published in Hansard for 17th April 1975 (cols 143–4 of Written Answers), entitled "Public Expenditure in 1976–77; Proposed Reductions", into 1975–76 outturn prices.
§ Mr. Joel BarnettThe figures below are based on a revised version of the table referred to, in which the allocation of the reductions was stated to be provisional in some cases.
forecasts for the coming financial year in the forthcoming Budget Red Book on the same classification of economic activities as is used in projecting the growth and use of resources in the White Paper on Public Expenditure.
§ Mr. Joel BarnettNo. The table on the growth and use of resources in the White Paper on Public Expenditure sets out public expenditure in the context of economic growth rates for the period 1974–79, treating the balance of payments 757W and investment as a prior claim on resources, with private and public consumption determined by the balance of available resources. Such a presentation is not appropriate for the short-term economic forecasts published at the time of the Budget because it does not accord with the factors determining short term demand changes.