asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the average amount by which public expenditure has exceeded the amount spent in 1978–79, in each year from 1979–80, in actual and real terms and as a percentage of 1978–79 figures.
The outturn figures for the public expenditure planning total for 1978–79 given in last year's Public Expenditure White Paper (Cmnd. 9143) was £65·8 billion. The recently published 1985 White Paper (Cmnd. 9428) shows an estimated outturn for 1984–85 of £128·1 billion. The average annual difference from the 1978–79 planning total over the period 1979–80 to 1984–85 was £40·3 billion, which is equivalent to 61·3 per cent. of the 1978–79 planning total. In real terms, the planning total has increased from £111·7 billion in 1978–79 to £122·3 billion in 1984–85 (at 1983–84 prices), with an average annual difference from 1978–79 of £5·5 billion, equivalent to 4·9 per cent. of the 1978–79 planning total in real terms.