Stocks and Work in Progress

HC Deb 05 April 1955 vol 539 c991

37. Mr. Gaitskell

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he will now publish monthly figures of the general level of stocks and work in progress.

Mr. R. A. Butler

I regret that not enough information is available to make such monthly estimates possible.

Mr. Gaitskell

Is the Chancellor aware that the American Government publish monthly figures of stocks, or inventories, as they call them, and can he hold out any hope that it will be possible to publish these figures monthly, or at least quarterly?

Mr. Butler

My right hon. Friend the President of the Board of Trade is making certain inquiries from a number of manufacturing firms in industry, and he hopes to collect some figures quarterly. No decision has been taken yet about the publication of any such figures. Details about raw materials can be obtained from the Monthly Digest of Statistics. The difficulty is really over food and strategic stocks. Hitherto, the decision has been not to publish the figures for food or strategic stocks.