§ Mr. Geoffrey Finsbergasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will give the total United Kingdom indebtedness as at 31st March 1970, 31st March 1974 and at the latest date, broken down into internal and external borrowings.
§ Mr. Denzil DaviesFigures of the nominal value of total United Kingdom public sector debt held outside the public sector—from 1966 onwards—are published in the article in the May 1977 issue ofEconomic Trends, to which I referred in my answer on 19th July 1977. I have nothing to add to that answer regarding the latest information available; it will not be possible to up-date the estimates to 30th June until early September. The accompanying table provides information from the article on the amount of debt outstanding at 31st March 1970 and at 31st March 1974.
£ millions At 31st March 1970 1974 Debt held domestically … 35,264 44,976 Debt held overseas … 7,732 7,804 Total … 42,996 52,780