HC Deb 16 February 1979 vol 962 cc698-700W
Mr. Pardoe

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list, for those Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development countries for which information is available, the percentage of central and local government expenditure which goes to transfer payments.

Mr. Denzil Davies,

pursuant to his reply [Official Report, 15 February 1979], gave the following information:

The information requested is shown in the table below for the latest year for which figures are generally available:

TRANSFER PAYMENTS(1) AS A PROPORTION OF GENERAL GOVERNMENT(2) EXPENDITURE(3) IN 1976 IN OECD COUNTRIES(4)
Percentage
Australia … … … 36½(5)
Austria … … … 43(5)
Belgium … … … 55½
Canada … … … 41
Denmark … … … 39½
Finland … … … 38
France … … … 57½
West Germany … … … 46½
Iceland … … … 52½(6)
Ireland … … … 49½(5)
Italy … … … 61½
Japan … … … 39
Luxembourg … … … 54(5)
Netherlands … … … 60½
Norway … … … 54½
Portugal … … … 39½(5)
Spain … … … 50
Sweden … … … 45
Turkey … … … 19(7)
United Kingdom … … … 43
United States … … … 41
(1) Subsidies, current grants and interest payments (gross). Loans and capital transfers are exeluded.
(2) Central and local government combined so as to exclude transactions between the separate central and local government sub-sectors.
(3) Excluding loans and capital transfers.
(4) Figures are not available for Greece New Zealand, Switzerland and Yugoslavia.
(5) 1975.
(6) 1968.
(7) 1972.

Source: National Accounts for OECD countries 1976.

Mr. Pardoe

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list, for those Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development countries for which information is available, the percentage of the workforce employed in nationalised industries.

Mr. Denzil Davies,

pursuant to his reply [Official Report, 15 February 1979], gave the following information

For the United Kingdom, estimates published in the January 1979 issue of Economic Trends show that 7.2 per cent. of the total employed labour force was employed by the nationalised industries, including the Post Office, at mid-1977. Comparable figures are not available for the other OECD countries.