§ Mr. Dobsonasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the Treasury's estimate for the next 20 years of the rate of price inflation, the increase in public service pensions and the general rate of return on investment.
§ Mr. BiffenI shall let the hon. Member have a reply as soon as possible.
Expenditure on goods and services* by Central government (1) Local authorities (2) Total central and local government (3) Gross national product at market prices (4) Column (1) Column (2) Column (3) as percentages of column (4) £ million Percentages 1970 6,028 5,407 11,435 51,551 11.7 10.5 22.2 1971 6,796 6,028 12,824 57,786 11.8 10.4 22.2 1972 7,571 6,823 14,394 63,799 11.9 10.7 22.6 1973 8,581 8,442 17,023 74,093 11.6 11.4 23.0 1974 10,890 10,074 20,964 83,961 13.0 12.0 25.0 1975 14,471 13,574 28,045 104,711 13.8 13.0 26.8 1976 17,160 14,962 32,122 124,337 13.8 12.0 25.8 1977 18,691 15,360 34,051 141,834 13.2 10.8 24.0 1978 20,732 16,429 37,161 162,157 12.8 10.1 22.9 1979† 17,481 13,857 31,338 134,460 13.0 10.:1 23.3 * Including capital consumption. † First three quarters, seasonally adjusted. Source: The national accounts.
I cannot anticipate the Budget Statement so far as the level of Government spending and gross national product in 1980 is concerned.