§ Mr. SteinbergTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will give(a) the total public expenditure for each year from 1978–79 to 1989–90 showing the cost of each service in real terms and also as a percentage of the total and (b) the percentage growth of each service and of total expenditure in real terms.
§ Mr. LamontA breakdown of the public expenditure planning total by function for the years 1978–79 to 1989–90 in real terms (base year 1987–88), from which percentage changes can be derived, was given in table 21.4.7 of chapter 21 of the 1989 public expenditure White Paper (Cm 621). The proportions of total departmental spending devoted to particular functions was given in table 21.4.8 of the same publication.
The figures in both these tables are based on the definition of the planning total used in the 1988 and earlier public expenditure surveys. As announced in Cm 441, the Government have decided to change the definition of the planning total. The plans to be published in the Autumn Statement will be on the new definition.