Committee on Invisible Exports

HC Deb 25 March 1970 vol 798 c1418

22. Mr. Ridley

asked the President of the Board of Trade when he next proposes to meet the Committee on Invisible Exports.

Mr. Mason

No date has yet been arranged.

Mr. Ridley

When the President next meets the committee, will he tell them that he is now prepared to publish the figures for Government invisibles separately from private invisibles? Will he also agree to publish separate figures for the different branches of invisible earnings, because there is a woeful lack of information to the public at the present time concerning invisibles?

Mr. Mason

I am doing what I can to help the invisible exporter and, indeed, publicising our efforts more than they have ever been publicised before. The hon. Member is, however, a little out of date. He will notice that the breakdown of invisible earnings between the private and the Government sectors is now shown in both the quarterly and the annual balance of payments statistics. We cannot get the returns fast enough for it to be done monthly.