§ 4. Mr. Kenneth Carlisleasked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry when he expects to announce final figures for overseas direct investment in the United Kingdom for 1983.
§ Mr. Norman LamontThe final figures are expected to be published in May 1985. However, there are early indications of a substantial increase in 1983 in the level of non-oil inward direct investment in the United Kingdom.
§ Mr. CarlisleDoes my hon. Friend agree that we win more overseas investment that any other country in Europe, that that investment provides a substantial share 334 of our jobs and exports, and that therefore the news that he has announced is excellent? Does he agree that if we are to attract that essential investment we must remain members of the Common Market and continue to provide a stable economy here?
§ Mr. LamontI agree with my hon. Friend. Inward investment by foreign-owned companies provides about 14.9 per cent. of employment, so they are extremely important. Many of these companies would not come here unless they had access to the large market of the EEC. I might add that, in the preliminary indications, 1983 looks as though it will be the best year ever for inward investment.
§ Mr. ColvinFurther to my hon. Friend's reply to our hon. Friend the hon. Member for Lincoln (Mr. Carlisle), does he also agree that, conversly, any aspiring Government, like some Opposition Members, who advocate withdrawing from Europe not only do irreparable damage to our inward investment prospects but put in jeopardy the jobs of 2.5 million British workers?
§ Mr. LamontMy hon. Friend is right. I am glad to say that, despite the noises that Opposition Members make about withdrawing from the EEC, foreign investors obviously do not believe that right hon. and hon. Gentlemen have the slightest chance of coming to power, because they continue to pour inward investment into this country, thereby demonstrating their confidence in our country and in its Government.
§ Mr. WilliamsIs it not a fact that many of the 1,500 American companies, like the German and Japanese ones, who have come to this country were attracted by the package that was able to offer regional development grants and capital allowances? Does not the diminution of the RDG, coupled with the abolition of the capital allowance, mean that in future Britain will be markedly less attractive for foreign investment?
§ Mr. LamontNo, I do not think that that is the case, because foreign companies know, even if the right hon. Gentleman does not, that they will have here not only a good economic climate, but, as a result of the Chancellor's changes, one of the lowest rates of corporation tax in the world.