§ Mr. Fairbairnasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what was the national debt in February 1974; and what it is currently.
§ Mr. Joel Barnett,pursuant to his reply [Official Report, 18th July 1978], gave the following information:
The figure of outstanding national debt is available only for 31st March in each year. The figures to the nearest available dates to those asked for are:
National debt Date £ million Percentage of G.D.P.† at market prices 31st March 1974 40,125 55.1 31st March 1978 79,083* 54.8 * Provisional. † In preceding financial year.