§ Mr. Merchantasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what was the total Government expenditure as a percentage of gross domestic product in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development definition in the years 1982, 1983 and 1984.
§ Mr. Peter ReesThe OECD definition expresses total Government outlays as a percentage of gross domestic product. Government outlays mainly consists of current disbursements and gross capital formation. This definition is narrower than that used for public expenditure.
On the OECD definition, Government outlays were 43.3 percent. of GDP in 1982 and 43.1 percent. in 1983. Figures for 1984 are not yet available.