§ 24. Mr. Chapmanasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he will make a statement on the impact of the current United States recession on the British economy and on the sterling area.
§ Mr. MaudlingNo, Sir. The question will be covered in White Papers to be laid before Parliament in the next few weeks and in the Budget debates.
§ Mr. ChapmanI do not want to start a debate, but could the right hon. Gentleman say anything helpful at the moment about the effect of the American recession, particularly on British exports? Could he say whether the slack in British exports at the moment in any degree results from the American recession, and could he say something about progress in exports in the rest of the sterling area?
§ Mr. MaudlingThis extremely important question is so big and complicated that it would be unwise to try to deal with it in answer to supplementary questions. I am afraid that partial information, which is all I could give in answer to supplementary questions, would be misleading. I hope that the hon. Member will forgive me in the circumstances.