§ Mr. RookerTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on the method of calculation of the national debt; and if he will indicate the level of national debt per person in each of the last 20 years. [10771]
§ Mr. WaldegraveEstimates of a range of measures of public debt, including net public sector debt, gross general government debt and the national debt, are published in November's edition of the Bank of England quarterly bulletin. The figures are calculated using sector by sector information on debt outstanding—for example, the nominal value of government stocks and Treasury bills outstanding and notes and coins in circulation—most of which is held by the Bank of England.
The table provides figures for the level of real net public sector debt per person for the years 1976 to 1995, the last year for which population data are available.
Net public sector debt per person (figures in £s) Year Real NPSD per person 1976 5,024 1977 5,070 1978 4,847 1979 4,737 1980 4,435 1981 4,325 1982 4,340 1983 4,274 1984 4,434 1985 4,605 1986 4,511 1987 4,500 1988 4,253 1989 3,649 1990 3,346 1991 3,080 1992 3,151 1993 3,684 1994 4,390 1995 4,950