§ Mr. Ralph Howellasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will tabulate and compare the total number of persons employed in the public sector together with pensioners and the unemployed in May 1979 and at the 90W latest date for which figures are available, showing the total expenditure at both times and percentages of total Government expenditure and of gross domestic product.
§ Mr. BrittanThe information requested, in so far as it is available, has been published as follows:
- public sector employment—Economic Trends, November 1980; Article on employment.
- number of pensions paid—Social Trends 11, table 6.8.
- numbers unemployed—Department of Employment press notice on unemployment and vacancies.
- wages and salaries of public sector employees—National Income and Expenditure 1980, Tables 6.1 and 9.6.
- expenditure on pensions, expenditure on unemployment benefits—Annual Abstract of Statistics 1981, table 3.5.
- total Government expenditure—Financial Statistics, April 1981.
- GDP—Economic Trends, June 1980 and CSO national income press notice.
Differences in the time periods to which the available data refer and non-availability of recent estimates for some items make it impossible to provide the comparisons requested.