§ Q1. Mr. Duffyasked the Prime Minister whether he will arrange to take the chair at the next meeting of the National Economic Development Council, in order to discuss the different forecasts about economic growth in 1972 produced by the Government and the Council.
§ The Prime Minister (Mr. Edward Heath)No, Sir. The Council has made no forecast of the rate of economic growth in 1972.
§ Mr. DuffyIs the Prime Minister aware that his right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer claimed in this House three weeks ago that the demand for engineering products at home and abroad was encouraging and that a subsequent N.E.D.C. report described this as pessimistic? Before the right hon. Gentleman takes refuge in the more optimistic forecasts of the Treasury's monthly economic report published yesterday, will he bear in mind that the report also pointed out that capital investment in the manufacturing sector was flat in the third quarter? Should not he now say something definite about the timing and co-ordination of the Government's efforts to bring about a revival of capital investment?
§ The Prime MinisterI think there may be some misunderstanding on this matter. The N.E.D.C. as such does not make forecasts; it is a forum for discussion. Economic projections into the future are for the Government and other bodies. As for forecasts of engineering orders, the provisional estimates show a 16 per cent. increase in the third quarter of 1971. I 255 believe what the hon. Gentleman has in mind is that the Economic Development Committee for Mechanical Engineering, which is only one part of the engineering industry, made a forecast about short-term trends in mechanical engineering. Mechanical engineering is only part of the total, but is included in the overall engineering forecasts. It is those that matter.