§ Mr. BercowTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to his oral statement of 7 March 2001,Official Report, column 297, on debt repayment, on which lines in which tables in the March 2001 Financial Statement and Budget report his statement is based. [17307]
§ Mr. Andrew SmithThe 2001 Budget estimate for the public sector net cash requirement (PSNCR) in 2000–01 is given in the net cash requirement line of table C20 of the March 2001 Financial Statement and Budget report. A negative figure for PSNCR implies the repayment of debt. Historical estimates of the PSNCR from 1963–64 are available from the Office for National Statistics. For the years 1951–52 to 1962–63, ONS estimates of public sector net borrowing have been used. These were positive in each year, implying no significant repayment of debt.