§ 28. Captain Pilkingtonasked the President of the Board of Trade how many radios and radiogramophones were imported from Germany in 1954 and 1955.
§ Mr. P. Thorneycroft7,872 complete radio sets in 1954 and 27,073 in 1955. Figures for complete radiogramophones were 143 and 1,219.
§ Captain PilkingtonHas my right hon. Friend received any representations from the makers in this country, in view of the tremendous increase over last year?
§ Mr. ThorneycroftI do not think so. The tariff is, in fact, the same both ways—20 per cent. in this country and 20 per cent. in Germany.
§ Mr. BottomleyIs not this another example of lack of policy by Her Majesty's Government? Would the right hon. Gentleman not agree that the extreme measures doing away with hire-purchase restrictions altogether resulted in this vast increase of imports from Germany?
§ Mr. ThorneycroftI am glad to have the support of the right hon. Gentleman for our measures increasing hire-purchase restrictions.