§ 38. Lady Tweedsmuirasked the President of the Board of Trade whether he will arrange that the Board of Trade publication, Accounts relating to Trade and Navigation of the United Kingdom, shall give more detailed information of the types of goods imported under Class D, Division 15, in order to assist manufacturers in the United Kingdom.
§ Mr. J. RodgersI regret that it is not possible to expand any particular section of the Trade Accounts without either upsetting the balance of the publication or increasing its size and so delaying publication. When the trade in any particular item becomes sufficiently important, we are always glad to consider it.
Information about the full list of headings distinguished in the Statistical Classification for Imported Goods, of which there are 170 in Class D, Division 15, as against the 82 shown in the Trade and Navigation Accounts, is, however, available from Her Majesty's Customs and Excise within five or six weeks of the end of the month on payment of a fee to cover the cost of extraction.
§ Lady TweedsmuirDoes this publication give enough information to the smaller firms which, for example, are 25 seeking opportunities to manufacture under licence?
§ Mr. RodgersI think it does. I do not quite know what particular information the smaller firms are looking for, but data can be extracted from the Customs and Excise in accordance with specification at a cost of 9d. per sheet with a minimum of 2s.