asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what was the gross domestic product per capita of each of the nine member States of the EEC and their constituent regions in 1960, 1970 and the latest year for which comparative statistics are available, expressing the result in terms of £ sterling at March 1974 exchange rates and the figure for

The information that is available is given below. The earliest year for which gross domestic product—GDP—figures are available for all regions of the United Kingdom is 1966. To facilitate comparison, figures for 1966 are also given for other countries where available. The latest year for which regional figures are published on a comparable basis for EEC countries is 1970. No figures are available for Denmark and Ireland.

The figures have been compiled as requested, but it should be noted that

(a) estimates of regional GDP are not prepared on an exactly similar basis in the various countries;

(b) exchange rates are known not to reflect accurately the internal purchasing power of countries' currencies and hence it may not be meaningful to use this method to make international comparisons of regional GDP;

(c) the use of March 1974 exchange rates further distorts the comparisons as they are even less likely to reflect currencies' internal purchasing power during those years for which GDP figures are quoted.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what was the annual cost, expressed in pounds sterling, of the EEC budgetary item, "Administrative, operational and miscellaneous expenditure" during each of the last five years.

Expenditure on staff—including pay, allowances, pensions and insurance—and on buildings, equipment and current administrative expenditure etc.—including expenditure on statistical, etc surveys, publishing and information and the cost of meetings—in the Commission's section of the budget of the European Communities in the years 1971 to 1974 amounts to:

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if, prior to introducing his legislation on capital transfer tax, he conducted comparative studies of the practice in EEC countries relating to taxation of agricultural, forestry and fishing interests.

EEC countries differ significantly in the general scope of their taxes on capital, as in their treatment of particular assets. As regards the capital transfer tax, we believe that the reliefs from the tax which we are now proposing are both fair and sufficient.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what percentage of the total deficit on the balance of payments was represented by the United Kingdom's contribution to the EEC budget in each of the years 1973 and 1974.

The United Kingdom's net contribution to the budget of the European Communities in 1973 represented 8·7 per cent. of the total deficit on the balance of payments current account, and in 1974 0·8 per cent. of the estimated total deficit on current account. The figure for the United Kingdom contribution in 1974 reflects some technical and other factors and does not provide a reliable guide for future years.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what percentage of public expenditure is expected to be represented by the United Kingdom contribution to the EEC in the financial year 1974–75.

The net United Kingdom contribution to the budget of the European Communities in 1974–75 is estimated at £35 milion. This represents 0·1 per cent of the estimated total of public expenditure—at 1974 survey prices—for the same period, as estimated in Cmnd. 5879. The figure for the United Kingdom contribution in 1974–75 reflects some technical and other factors and does not provide a reliable guide for future years.