§ 16. Mr. BurstowTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the level of business investment as a proportion of GDP since 1997 in(a) current and (b) constant prices; and if he will make a statement. [105165]
§ John HealeyIn 2002, business investment stood at 12.4 per cent. of constant price GDP and 10.1 per cent. of current price GDP. Clearly the challenging global economic environment of recent years has had an adverse impact on investment in the UK as in all the other major economies. Nonetheless, even amidst the difficulties of the world economy in 2001 and 2002, business investment still stood 26 per cent. higher last year, in real terms, than it did in the year before this Government took office.