§ Mr. Craigenasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what figures he has on total public sector purchasing; and if he is satisfied that Government procurement practices are operating fairly in the deployment of purchasing throughout the parts of the United Kingdom.
§ Mr. Brittan[pursuant to his reply, 18 November 1981]: Total public expenditure on goods and services—excluding wages and salaries—was estimated to be about £25 billion in 1981–82—Economic Progress Report, September 1981. This does not include expenditure on operating account by the nationalised industries and other trading bodies in the public sector for which the figures are not available.
There is no evidence to suggest that Government procurement practices have any unfair geographical bias.