§ Mr. Ralph Howellasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many people were working in the National Health Service, local government and the Civil Service in the years 1970, 1979, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1983 and 1984; what was the total public expenditure on these services for each of those years; and if he will publish these costs and numbers both as a total and broken down between the three factors.
§ Mr. Peter ReesI draw the attention of my hon. Friend to the written answers given to him on 31 January at columns312 and 313 and 11 January 1985 at columns 2–4. Public expenditure figures for 1979–80 to date are given in the White Paper, "The Government's Expenditure Plans, 1985–86 to 1987–88" (Cmnd 9428). Figures for 1970 are not available on the same definitions. Public sector employment figures are published annually in "Economic Trends" and its annual supplement.