asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what was the percentage increase in the money supply in the United Kingdom in each of the past five years; and what the corresponding figures were, using a similar definition of money supply, for each of the other member countries of the EEC.
Following is the information:
| Percentage change over year to: | Belgium | Denmark | Germany | Netherlands | France | Ireland | Italy | United Kingdom | ||||||
| December 1972 | … | … | … | … | … | … | 17·0 | 15·0 | 14·3 | 11·9 | 18·6 | 14·3 | 18·2 | 25·8 |
| December 1973 | … | … | … | … | … | … | 15·4 | 12·7 | 9·0 | 21·9 | 15·0 | 27·2 | 23·2 | 27·6 |
| December 1974 | … | … | … | … | … | … | 14·3 | 8·9 | 8·5 | 20·0 | 18·1 | 20·4 | 15·4 | 12·6 |
| December 1975 | … | … | … | … | … | … | 15·0 | 25·5 | 8·5 | 5·7 | 15·9 | 19·1 | 23·5 | 7·6 |
| December 1976 | … | … | … | … | … | … | 14·1 | 11·4 | 8·3 | 22·7 | 12·8 | 14·3 | 21·8 | 11·4 |
Notes:
1. Definitions: United Kingdom—Sterling M3, Germany—M3, Belgium, Denmark, Netherlands, France, Ireland and Italy—M2. These are the most closely related definitions available, but, given structural differences, they are not directly comparable.
2. End-December 1976 is the latest date for which data are available for all EEC countries.
3. Belgian currency circulates in Luxembourg; separate money supply figures for Luxembourg are not, therefore, available.