§ 18. Mr. McKelveyTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what plans he has to reduce import penetration.
§ Mr. SainsburyThe Department's policies aim to foster the competitiveness of British industry.
§ Mr. McKelveyAll to our loss in Kilmarnock. Is the Minister not aware that, since 1979, there has been a massive one third increase in import penetration? The import penetration on office equipment and processing data is colossal at 95 per cent. The import penetration on machine tools is huge at 52 per cent. and that for clothing, textiles and footware is 40 per cent. The Minister must tell me what to tell my constituents of Kilmarnock. How can they have some hope for the future when their economy is based on industry?
§ Mr. SainsburyI am glad to note that the latest figures show export volume up 3 per cent. and import volume down 2 per cent. on the equivalent quarter last year.