§ Mr. Ridleyasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he will review the absence of detailed economic projections on the growth and use of resources from Command Paper No. 6721 parts I and II, to which paragraph 55 in part I refers, in the light of the need for understanding and appraisal of the significance of the Government's expenditure plans.
§ Mr. Joel BarnettI refer the hon. Member to the reply that I gave him on 4th February.
§ Mr. Ridleyasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether, further to his answer to the Question from the hon. Member 727W for Carshalton (Mr. Forman), Official Report, 27th January 1977, column 764, about the share of public expenditure in gross domestic product, he will publish estimates of total public expenditure as a proportion of gross domestic product in each year covered by the White Paper using the old definitions when the second part of Command Paper No. 6721 becomes available.
§ Mr. Joel BarnettWe have abandoned the old definition of public expenditure, because figures based on it could be misleading, and I do not propose to revert to it. The hon. Member will, however, be able to use the figures of debt interest on the old basis, Government lending and capital grants to nationalised industries, and nationalised industries' investment to be published in the second volume of the White Paper to derive an approximate adjustment to convert the published ratios of public expenditure to GDP to the old basis.