§ Mr. Sillarsasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if, when replying to Questions
228Wearnings each year, (b) earning £8,000 per annum in 1974 with maximum permitted annual increments and (c) earning £14,000 per annum in 1974 with maximum permitted annual increments, in each of the last four years; and if he will express the decline in percentage terms from a 1974 base, taking the rate of inflation into account.
§ Mr. Robert SheldonI presume that by "maximum permitted annual increments" the hon. Member means the amounts indicated in the three rounds of the current incomes policy from August 1975. On this basis, assuming that the men on £8,000 and £14,000 per annum received pay at this rate on 6th April 1975, received no increase before the introduction of the incomes policy and received appropriate increases in April 1976, April 1977 and 1978, the figures are as follows:
about public spending per head in each region of the United Kingdom, he takes into account defence spending, including aircraft development costs, capital expenditure of each nationalised industry, support for civil aerospace projects, and tax relief on mortgage interest payments.
§ Mr. Joel BarnettFigures are available of identifiable public expenditure, in each of the four countries of the United Kingdom, but not for expenditure in the regions of England—see, for example, the answer given to the hon. Member for Blaydon (Mr. Woof) on 24th November 1977. [Vol. 939, c.852.] These exclude defence spending, including any aircraft development costs within the defence budget. They exclude the capital expenditure of the nationalised industries, because this is not now included in public expenditure as defined in the public expenditure White Papers, but they include net lending and capital grants to the nationalised industries. Support for 229W civil aerospace projects is included, but only to the extent that the country in which the expenditure was incurred can be identified. Tax relief is not public expenditure.