§ Mr. AllenTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what changes to the definition of PSBR have taken place since May 1997. [7356]
§ Mr. Andrew SmithIn July 1998 the PSBR was renamed the public sector net cash requirement. In September 1998 the definition was modified to conform with the new European System of Accounts (ESA95). Details of the changes were given in Chapter 5 of "Monthly Statistics on Public Sector Finances: a methodological guide" (no. 12 in Government Statistical Service Methodology Series). Further information on the Government's use of fiscal aggregates in setting fiscal policy can be found in Section 4 of "Analysing UK Fiscal Policy" (HM Treasury, November 1999).