§ Vera BairdTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the cost of(a) benefits and (b) tax credits was (i) in the UK, (ii) in the North East region and (iii) in the Tees Valley as a percentage of GDP in the last year for which figures are available. [121826]
§ Dawn PrimaroloAs described in Chapter C of Budget 2003, the 2001–02 cost of social security benefits was 10.1 per cent. of GDP. Similarly, tax credits (including those treated as expenditure and those as negative taxation) were 1.1 per cent. of GDP. Child allowances in Income Support and Jobseekers' Allowance are included in the latter figure rather than the former, to give consistent definitions over the period of the Budget tables.
Comparable figures are not available for regions or sub-regions.