§ Mr. MeacherTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what has been the annual percentage growth each year since 1979 in(a) real incomes, (b) the stock of consumer debt outstanding in real terms, (c) consumer spending and (d) output in the economy.
§ Mr. Ryder[holding answer 19 October 1989]: The 1989 edition of "United Kingdom National Accounts"—otherwise known as the CSO Blue Book—gives annual estimates of real personal disposable income (Table 4.1), consumers' expenditure at constant prices (Table 4.6) and of United Kingdom output (Table 2.4). A copy is available in the Library. Figures of the annual percentage growth of the stock of consumer credit, expressed in real terms, are as follows:
288W
Growth 1979 7.9 1980 3.2 1981 9.4 1982 -6.6 1983 12.3 1984 12.2 1985 11.7 1986 12.3 France, (d) Holland, (e) the Federal Republic of Germany, (f) Japan, (g) the United States of America and (h) Sweden for each year since 1979.
§ Mr. Ryder[holding answer 18 October 1989]: The average levels of inflation since 1979 for Denmark, Canada, France, the Netherlands, Germany, Japan, the United States and Sweden are given in "OECD Economic Outlook June 1989", a copy of which is available in the House of Commons Library. The information requested on interest rates is as follows:
Growth 1987 15.5 1988 10.9