HC Deb 18 May 1984 vol 60 c269W
Mr. Warren

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will give a detailed statement of the total expenditure overseas by Her Majesty's Government during the most recent financial year for which statistics are available.

Mr. Peter Rees

Table 1.9 of the Public Expenditure White Paper Cmnd. 9143 shows that in 1982–83, the last financial year for which reliable outturn information is available, current grants abroad and net lending and investment abroad by the public sector amounted to £1,687 million net.

The main components of this expenditure are detailed in the following table:

Public Expenditure Main Programme £ million
Defence 35
Overseas aid and other overseas services* 1,607
Agriculture, fisheries, food and forestry 16
Trade, industry, energy and employment -215
Transport 7
Education and science 46
Health and personal social services 18
Social security 169
* Further details on the overseas services programme may be obtained from Chapter 2.2 of Cmnd. 9143.

The table excludes defence expenditure of about £1.7 billion defrayed overseas (for example, on equipment and overseas bases); this is included in the defence budget but is not separately identified as overseas expenditure.

Also excluded from the table are salaries paid to locally employed staff overseas, which are classified in the White Paper as part of other current expenditure but cannot be separately identified without incurring disproportionate cost.