§ Mr. Richard Shepherdasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the total amount of cuts in public expenditure announced by himself and other members of Her Majesty's Government for the current financial year; and by what amounts this total sum exceeds the net contribution which the United Kingdom will make to the EEC in the current financial year.
§ Mr. Lawson,pursuant to his reply [Official Report, 25 July 1979],gave the following answer:
The total amount of cuts in public expenditure in 1979–80 was announced in the Budget Statement. It substantially exceeds the net United Kingdom contribution to the EEC in 1979–80, which is estimated at £825 million—at 1979 survey prices.