§ Mr. ChaytorTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what was the total expenditure on gas and electricity by the public sector for each of the last three years for which figures are available. [84309]
§ Ms HewittThe information requested falls within the responsibility of the Director of the Office for National Statistics. I have asked him to reply.
Letter from Tim Holt to Mr. David Chaytor, dated 20 May 1999:
As Director of the Office for National Statistics (ONS), I have been asked to reply to your recent parliamentary question on total expenditure on gas and electricity by the public sector.The ONS does not publish information for Public Sector expenditure on gas and electricity. It does however publish information for such expenditure by General Government, which is the Public Sector excluding Public Corporations.This information is published in 'United Kingdom Input-Output supply and Use Balances, 1992–96', and is on each year's table 5. The product numbers are 85 for Electricity Production and Distribution and 86 for Gas Distribution. General Government expenditure on these products is shown in the 'Total Intermediate' column.The data are consistent with the 1998 edition of 'United Kingdom National Accounts' (The Blue Book).Both publications are available in the House of Commons Library.