§ Mr. Blairasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will publish in the Official Report a table showing for the financial years 1970–71 to 1988–89 the actual or planned figures for (a) the public sector borrowing requirement in cash on the present definition, together with a note indicating what significant definitional changes during this period have been, (b) the public sector borrowing 102W requirement in constant price terms and (c) the public sector borrowing requirement as a percentage of gross domestic product.
§ Mr. MacGregorThe figures requested are in the following table:
PSBR PSBR PSBR £ billion cash £ billion 1984–85 prices* as percentage of GDP† 1970–71 0.8 3.8 1.5 1971–72 1.0 4.3 1.6 1972–73 2.4 10.0 3.6 1973–74 4.3 16.6 5.8 1974–75 8.0 25.6 9–0 1975–76 10.3 26.1 9.3 1976–77 8.3 18.7 6.4 1977–78 5.4 10.6 3.6 1978–79 9.2 16.5 5.3 1979–80 10.0 15.3 4.8 1980–81 12.7 16.3 5.4 1981–82 8.6 10.1 3.3 1982–83 8.9 9.7 3.1 1983–84 9.7 10.2 3.2 1984–85 10.2 10.2 3.1 1985–86‡ 8 7½ 2¼ 1986–87 7½ 7 2 1987–88| 7 6 1¾ 1988–89| 7½ 6½ 1¾ * The cash figures are adjusted for general inflation as measured by the GDP deflator at market prices; the increases in the GDP deflator in 1985–86 onwards are as assumed in the 1985 autumn statement. † GDP average measure at current market prices. ‡ Forecast. |MTFS projections. There has been only one change of definition of the PSBR since statistics for the PSBR were first published: that was to exclude public sector deposits with banks and certain other short-term assets of a similar nature, as announced in the Official Report, 10 February 1984, at column 808. An article in the February 1984 issue of Economic Trends described the change and its effects, which are small (at most about 0.25 per cent. of GDP in any year and on average much smaller).