§ Mr. Austin Mitchellasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he will publish in the Official Report a table showing for each year since 1957 the amount set aside by industrial and commercial companies out of profits for depreciation and the amount spent on new plant and equipment.
§ Mr. MacGregor[pursuant to his reply, 30 March 1987, c. 395]: Information, taken from the DTI's analysis of the published accounts of industrial and commercial companies in Great Britain, on the amounts set aside for depreciation is given in the table below. There are a number of breaks in the series; the analysis has only covered the whole industrial and commercial company sector since 1977. The accounts used in the analysis are the consolidated annual accounts of industrial and commercial company groups, which may include financial and overseas subsidiaries, and the accounts of independent companies registered in Great Britain. Great Britain subsidiaries of companies registered in Northern Ireland or overseas are also included. Fuller notes on coverage are given in the references.
Figures of gross domestic fixed capital formation in plant and machinery by industrial and commercial companies are given in the table below. These figures, which are mainly based on inquiries by the Business Statistics Office, include the purchase of new and secondhand assets whereas sales of plant and machinery are deducted. The figures relate to assets located in the United Kingdom and are published annually in the CSO Blue Book—table 10.3 of the 1986 edition. Figures are not available for years prior to 1965.
80W
Amounts set aside by industrial and commercial companies for depreciation £ million 1957 393 1958 443 1959 486 1960 560 1961 621 1962 683 1963 749 1964 905 1965 1,012 1966 1,097 1967 1,124 1968 1,254 1969 1,323 1970 1,431 1971 1,591 1972 1,754 1973 1,992 1974 2,222 1975 2,513 1976 2,896
£ million 1977 3,217 New series: 1977 5,348 1978 6,525 1979 7,749 1980 8,967 1981 10,569 1982 10,600 Large Companies only: 1983 9,245 1984 11,755 1957–59:
Quoted companies only.
Source: Economic Trends No. 102 April 1962.
1960–64:
Quoted and unquoted. All public and some private companies with net assets of £500,000 or more or gross income of £50,000 or more in 1960.
Source: Business Monitor 2nd and 4th Issues.
1965–68:
Based on all public and some private companies with net assets of £500,000 or more or gross income of £50,000 or more in 1964.
Source: Business Monitor, Misc. 3, 2nd and 4th Issues.
1969–74:
Based on companies with net assets of £2 million or more or gross income of £200,000 or more in 1968.
Source: Business Monitor, Misc. Annual MA3, 11th Issue.
1975–77:
Based on net assets of £5 million or more or gross income of £500,000 or more in 1973.
Source: Business Monitor, MA3, 11th Issue.
1977–84:
Based on representative sample of all industrial and commercial companies. Figures for 1983–84 are preliminary estimates based on large companies only and include write-offs.
Source: Business Monitor, MA3, 12th and 17th Issues.
Gross Domestic Fixed Capital Formation in Plant and Machinery by Industrial and Commercial Companies £ million 1965 1,313 1966 1,392 1967 1,397 1968 1,545 1969 1,688 1970 1,957 1971 2,013 1972 1,980 1973 2,315 1974 2,899 1975 3,525 1976 4,446 1977 5,502 1978 6,839 1979 8,094 1980 8,507 1981 8,174 1982 8,825 1983 9,458 1984 11,244 1985 14,611 1986 15,632