§ Mr. Gowasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the total amount of Government debt outstanding at present; what that debt amounts to per head of the population of the United Kingdom; what is his estimate of the amount of interest per head of the population payable in respect of that debt in the current financial year; and what were the similar figures in each of the last 20 years.
§ Mr. Joel BarnettThe estimated nominal value of public sector debt outstanding to the private and overseas sectors at 1st April 1975 was £60,000 million, or about £1,070 per head of the population. The following table shows public sector debt interest per head since 1955, including an estimate for the current financial year. Financial year estimates are not available before 1961–62. Estimates of the outstanding debt are not readily available for these years.
Public sector debt interest per head of home population £ 1955 18 1956 18 1957 18 1958 20 1959 20 1960 22 1961 24 1961–62 24 1962–63 24 1963–64 25 1964–65 26 1965–66 27 1966–67 29 1967–68 33 1968–69 35 1969–70 37 1970–71 38 1971–72 41 1972–73 45 1973–74 58 1974–75 69 1975–76 (estimate) 90