§ Mr. GibbTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to his answer to the right hon. Member for Wells (Mr. Heathcoat-Amory) of 29 June 1998,Official Report, column 29, if he will publish the classification rules for the national accounts. [48792]
§ Mrs. Liddell[holding answer 30 June 1998]: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the Chief Executive of the Office for National Statistics. I have asked him to reply.
Letter from Tim Holt to Mr. Nick Gibb, dated July 1998:
As Director of the Office for National Statistics (ONS), I have been asked to reply to your parliamentary question on the classification rules of the national accounts.The methodology underlying the national accounts is, like all methodology underlying ONS outputs, made available to users. In this case the current rules on the treatment of hospital repairs are in Chapter 12 of United Kingdom National Accounts Sources and Methods published by HMSO in 1985. Methodological Notes in subsequent annual editions of United Kingdom National Accounts—The Blue Book have updated some sections of Sources and Methods. Copies of both publications are available in the House of Commons Library.Paragraph 10 of chapter 12 of Sources and Methods says: "Expenditure on current repairs and maintenance make good breakages in fixed assets and keep them in proper working order, while outlays on capital repair and alteration lengthen the productivity of the goods significantly. The capital outlays should consist of significant alterations and additions to, or replacements 434W in, the parts of fixed assets. In order to be classified as fixed capital formation, the newly incorporated parts should have an expected lifetime of use of one year or more and involve substantial outlays and should also lengthen the expected lifetime of the use of the fixed assets, or alter the character or volume of services which they yield".The ONS will be publishing a new version of Sources and Methods in the Autumn consistent with the 1995 version of the European System of Accounts. There is no change to the rules concerning the classification of hospital repairs.