§ Mr. David ShawTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will state the total change in public expenditure that would result from public expenditure per person in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland being at the same level as in England for(a) 1979, (b) 1992–93 and (c) the 1994–95 and 1995–96 published plans.
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§ Mr. PortilloInformation on general Government expenditure per head in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland is published annually in the "Statistical Supplement to the Autumn Statement". The latest information, for 1987–88 to 1991–92, was published in Cm. 2219. Equivalent information is not available for 1979 or for years beyond 1991–92.
Table E1 in Cm. 2219 shows identifiable general Government expenditure per person in 1991–92 of £2,963 in England. Equivalent figures for the rest of the United Kingdom were £3,506 in Scotland; £3,268 in Wales; and £4,191 in Northern Ireland. On this basis, total identifiable general Government expenditure was some £5½ billion higher in the rest of the United Kingdom taken together than in England.
Those figures go wider than expenditure for which the Secretaries of State for Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are directly responsible. They include, for example, expenditure on social security. They exclude, however, almost a fifth of total general Government expenditure, which cannot be identified from official records as having been incurred on behalf of the population of a particular territorial area.