§ Mr. Lawsonasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will publish a table to show the increase in public expenditure each year since 1974 on manpower policy and the social services, indicating what proportion of each year's change resulted from (a) specific alterations in government policy, (b) automatic increases in expenditure from higher claims and entitlements under existing programmes and (c) increases in expenditure on programmes to take account of inflation.
§ Mr. Joel Barnett, pursuant to his reply [Official Report, 8 March 1979; Vol. 963, c. 774], gave the following information:
Movements in each programme at current and constant prices and the cost of new policies are shown in successive White Papers on public expenditure. They also contain tables showing, for example, estimated average numbers receiving main social security benefits, activities and patterns of need in the health and personal social services and student and pupil numbers. Fuller information is not held centrally. If the hon.
Percentage increase 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 United Kingdom Inflation Rate 6.4 9.4 7.1 9.2 16.1 24.2 16.5 15.8 8.2 Ml 9.6 9.6 14.1 5.3 11.0 13.9 11.4 21.9 16.6 £M3 9.8 13.4 25.2 26.9 10.3 6.7 9.6 10.2 15.1 West Germany Inflation Rate 3.4 5.3 5.5 6.9 7.0 6.0 4.5 3.9 2.6 Ml 9.7 12.8 13.9 0.2 12.9 13.6 3.9 11.3 8.3 M2 —* 16.2 15.8 13.3 6.6 −0.1 6.8 12.0 7.2 Switzerland Inflation Rate 3.6 6.6 6.7 8.7 9.8 6.7 1.7 1.3 1.1 Ml 7.3 21.2 8.5 2.1 1.1 5.9 8.1 4.1 20.0† M2 —* 4.9 7.5 5.9 7.8 7.9 7.5 8.1 8.2† * Not available. † First 11 months at an annual rate Sources:
United Kingdom: Economic Trends.
Switzerland, West Germany: Economic Outlook, OECD country surveys, main economic indicators.
Notes:
448W
- 1. Figures are given for both a narrowly and a broadly defined money supply aggregate. M2 is the nearest equivalent to sterling M3 in Switzerland and West Germany. Differences in national definitions, reflecting differences in financial structures, however, mean that these comparisons cannot be exact.
- 2. Inflation index for United Kingdom is retail price index and for Switzerland and West Germany consumer price index.
Member wishes to pursue any specific item of expenditure, I suggest he does so with the appropriate spending Department.