§ 78. Mr. Bruce-Gardyneasked the President of the Board of Trade if he will publish a three-yearly running average of the level of private manufacturing investment in the United Kingdom for each period of three consecutive years since 1945 at constant 1945 prices.
§ Mr. JayWith permission I will circulate the available information in the OFFICIAL REPORT. The figures show that, taking one year with another, and despite cyclical movements, manufacturing investment has increased fairly steadily since the war, and that the annual average has increased over the period 1948–1966 by some 90 per cent.
§ Mr. Bruce-GardyneCould the President of the Board of Trade confirm that by the end of 1968 we shall probably have experienced the longest and most profound slump in private manufacturing investment since the war? Is this a consequence of the change-over to the system of investment grants, or a consequence of the total failure of Government policies?
§ Mr. JayThe figures show that during the period from 1964 to 1966 the annual average of capital investment was higher than in any similar period since the war.
§ Following is the information:
| Manufacturing industry's capital expenditure* † | ||
| Annual average in £ million, expressed in estimated 1948 prices | ||
| 1948–50 annual average | … | 388 |
| 1949–51 annual average | … | 430 |
| 1950–52 annual average | … | 451 |
| 1951–53 annual average | … | 449 |
| 1952–54 annual average | … | 448 |
| 1953–55 annual average | … | 470 |
| 1954–56 annual average | … | 518 |
| 1955–57 annual average | … | 568 |
| 1956–58 annual average | … | 590 |
| 1957–59 annual average | … | 579 |
| 1958–60 annual average | … | 587 |
| 1959–61 annual average | … | 644 |
| 1960–62 annual average | … | 691 |
| 1961–63 annual average | … | 680 |
| 1962–64 annual average | … | 659 |
| 1963–65 annual average | … | 681 |
| 1964–66 annual average | … | 731 |
| *Includes public as well as private sector investment in manufacturing industry. | ||
| † Figures for 1955 and later years are on a business unit basis (i.e. relating to the whole of the individual manufacturing businesses, and including some non-manufacturing establishments): for earlier years, the figures have been adjusted proportionately from an establishment basis to a business unit basis. |