§ Mr. Concannonasked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what proportion of public spending in Northern Ireland has been paid in supplementary benefit in each of the last five financial years for which figures are available.
§ Mr. John PattenExpressed as a percentage of the total Northern Ireland programme as shown in the White Paper "The Government's Expenditure Plans 1982/83–1984/85" Cmnd. 8494, the proportion paid in Supplementary Benefit is as follows:
Year per cent. 1976–77 3.8 1977–78 4.4 1978–79 4.2 1979–80 3.9 1980–81 4.4