§ Mr. Ridleyasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he will redefine the total of public expenditure in volume terms, including debt interest, contingency 480W reserve and shortfall, projected for each financial year in Command Paper No. 5519, in accordance with the new treatment of Government lending to the nationalised industries and debt interest.
§ Mr. Joel BarnettThis would not be possible because, for example, the plans of the Government of the day for grants and loans to nationalised industries were not revealed when Command 5519 was published in December 1973.
§ Mr. Ridleyasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer in what respects he anticipates the details given in Part II of Command Paper No. 6721 for expenditure in individual programmes in the years 1979–80 and 1980–81 will depart from the practice normally adopted in past public expenditure White Papers.
§ Mr. Joel BarnettI must ask the hon. Member to await publication of Volume II of the White Paper.
§ Mr. Ridleyasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether the figures in paragraph 31 of Command Paper No. 6721-I are in volume terms or in cost terms including relative price effect.
§ Mr. Joel BarnettThe figures are in volume terms.
§ Mr. Ridleyasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer in what sense the reappraisal of the expenditure plans for 1980 and 1981 for individual programmes, which he has stated in paragraph 4 of Command Paper No. 6721-1 will need to be reappraised in the next annual survey, will require consideration beyond that which they would normally receive in any annual expenditure survey.
§ Mr. Joel BarnettIn the sense stated earlier in the paragraph; they do not take account of the developments which led to my right hon. Friend's statement on 15th December.