§ Mr. Ripponasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what was the cost per person of total United Kingdom public expenditure (a) including and (b) excluding capital expenditure of nationalised industries, in 1977–78 and 1978–79 and the estimate for 1979–1980.
§ Mr. Joel BarnettThe definition of public expenditure now in use includes Government finance to the nationalised industries, not the capital investment by the industries. The figure of total public expenditure in 1977–78 on that definition given in the recent public expenditure White Paper, Cmnd. 7439, represents £1,075 per head of the United Kingdom population, at 1978 survey prices. Equivalent figures for 1978–79 and 1979–80734W are £1,166 and £1,221 respectively, using provisional estimates of the population in those years. Of these amounts, capital finance to the nationalised industries represents—in 1977–78, £22 in 1978–79 and £29 in 1979–80.
The investment plans of the nationalised industries are given in part 3 of Cmnd. 7439; the figures shown represent £68 per head of the United Kingdom population in 1977–78, £68 per head in 1978–79 and £74 per head in 1979–80, again all at 1978 survey prices.