§ Mr. BlairTo ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how much purchasing by Government and other public bodies is accounted for in the United Kingdom's gross domestic product; what estimates he has of the amount of public purchasing contracts by Government and other public sector bodies awarded to United Kingdom firms; and what estimates he has of comparable figures for other European Community countries.
§ Mr. Butcher[holding answer 25 April 1988]: Based on national accounts data, United Kingdom public sector final expenditure on goods and services (but excluding wages and salaries) and fixed assets in 1987 accounted for about one eighth of gross domestic product at market prices. Comparative information for European Community countries, which is on a slightly different basis and limited to general Government (that is, central and local government), is set out in the table.
United Kingdom firms account for about 98 per cent. of the value of United Kingdom Government contract advertised and awarded under European Community/ GATT rules, with about 94 per cent. of goods and services supplied being of United Kingdom origin. Comparable figures are not readily available for other public bodies in the United Kingdom or public sectors in other European Community countries.
174W
General Government final expenditure as percentage of gross domestic product per cent. Year United Kingdom 10.2 1984 Belgium 6.6 1984 Denmark 9.5 1984 France 7.3 1984 Germany 11.6 1984 Greece n/a
per cent. Year Ireland 11.3 1983 Italy 9.4 1984 Luxembourg 15.4 1982 Netherlands 7.8 1984 Portugal 7.5 1981 Spain 5.4 1982 Notes:
1. Gross domestic product is at market prices.
2. With the exception of Germany, for which OECD data have been used, figures are derived from the latest EUROSTAT publication, with the year to which they relate indicated.
3. Figures for certain current receipts and sales of fixed assets are netted off in the published expenditure figures.