HC Deb 22 July 2004 vol 424 cc481-2W
Mr. Kenneth Clarke

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) what the level of household savings expressed as a percentage of UK gross domestic product has been in each of the last seven years; [186213]

(2) what the level of (a) household liabilities and (b) household debt expressed as a percentage of UK gross domestic product has been in each of the last seven years. [186215]

Ruth Kelly

The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.

Letter from Len Cook to Mr. Kenneth Clarke, dated 22 July 2004:

As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your two recent Parliamentary Questions on the level of household savings; the level of household liabilities and the level of household debt, each expressed as a percentage of UK gross domestic product in each of the last seven years. (186213 and 186215)

The information requested is shown in the table below. Household debt is measured as the total of household outstanding liabilities at the end or the period and hence only the latter is shown in the table.

The household series used for these data are for the combined household and non-profit institutions serving households (NPISH) sectors. The accounts for the household and NPISH sectors are currently combined: separate estimates are not available.

Household1 savings and liabilities as a percentage of Gross Domestic Product(GDP)1997—2003
Household1 savings as a percentage of GDP Household1 liabilities2as a percentage of GDP
1997 6.8 73.0
1998 4.4 73.3
1999 3.7 75.4
2000 3.9 78.0
2001 5.0 82.4
2002 4.1 89.2
2003 4.2 95.7
1Estimates are for the combined household and non-profit institutions serving households (NPISH) sectors.
2Total outstanding liabilities at the end of each year.