§ Mr. Austin MitchellTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what has been the increase in the money supply since May 1979; and what contribution was made by the public and private sectors, respectively.
§ Mr. LilleyFigures for the money supply are published regularly in the Bank of England "Quarterly Bulletin," "Financial Statistics" and "Economic Trends." Most of the published aggregates are defined as assets of private sector United Kingdom residents. There is therefore no 269W public sector contribution. MO is an exception and includes all currency in circulation, including that held in the public sector. No split between public and private sector holdings is available.
§ Mr. Austin MitchellTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will publish in theOfficial Report a table showing the percentage increase in the real money supply between February 1974 and May 1979 and between May 1979 and the latest date for which figures are available.
§ Mr. LilleyThere is no universally accepted definition of the real money supply. But figures for the money supply are published regularly in the Bank of England "Quarterly
Company Date of sale Net proceeds (£ million) to 1987–88 Amersham International February 1982 64 Associated British Ports February 1983 46 April 1984 51 BAA July 1987 1534 British Aerospace February 1981 43 May 1985 347 British Airways January 1987 854 British Gas December 1986 23,587 British Petroleum October 1979 276 June 1981 8 September 1983 543 October 1987 3859 British Sugar Corporation July 1981 44 British Telecom November 1984 3,685 Britoil November 1982 627 August 1985 426 Cable and Wireless October 1981 181 December 1983 263 December 1985 577 Enterprise Oil June 1984 384 National Enterprise Board holdings December 1979 354 onwards Forestry Commission ongoing 114 National Freight Consortium February 1982 5 Plant Breeding Institute September 1987 66 Rolls-Royce May 1987 1,028 Royal Ordnance April 1987 187 Miscellaneous4 2,252 Total5 17,401 1 Total estimated net proceeds £1.160 million; 2nd instalment 19 May 1988. 2 Total estimated net proceeds £5,080 million; 3rd instalment 19 April 1988. 3 Total estimated net proceeds £5,310 million; 2nd instalment 30 August 1988, 3rd instalment due 27 April 1989. 4 Includes British Gas Debt, British Telecom Loan Stock and Preference Shares, Land Settlement, Motorway Service Leases, New Town Development, Commodity Stocks, Oil Stockpiles and North Sea Oil Licences. 5 Figures exclude proceeds from sales of subsidiaries; these are retained by parent industry. Main sales in this category were:
£ million 1982–83 International Aeradio (BA) 60 British Rail Hotels 30 1983–84 British Rail Hotels 15 1984–85 Jaguar (BL) 297 Sealink (BR) 40 Wytch Farm (BGC) 82 1985–86 Warship Yards (BS) 54 Sealink (BR) 26 1986–87 BA Helicopters 14 Unipart (Rover) up to 52 Leyland Bus (Rover) 4 British Coal Subsidiaries 0.5 1987–88 British Transport Advertising 40.5 Istel (subsidiary of Rover Group) 47.6