HC Deb 14 February 1996 vol 271 cc1008-9
19. Mr. Sutcliffe

To ask the President of the Board of Trade what is the current figure for manufacturing as a percentage of gross domestic product. [13524]

Mr. Lang

In 1994, manufacturing output was 21 per cent. of gross domestic product.

Mr. Sutcliffe

Is that not the nub of the problem? In 1979, manufacturing represented 30 per cent. of GDP, and it is now down to less than 21 per cent. Is that decline because of the waste of resources which could have created long-term investment? Hon. Members on both sides of the House agree that we must return to increased levels of investment in manufacturing. Is not the problem that we are net exporters of investment? The Government have not created an environment in which investment can take place, which would bring back manufacturing to where it needs to be—where it could create the jobs that we need to provide employment.

Mr. Oppenheim

I completely agree with the hon. Gentleman about the importance of manufacturing. However, he should be aware that the share of GDP taken by manufacturing has fallen in every industrialised country, which, in absolute terms, does not mean that the manufacturing share has decreased. Service industries have done very well in this country, but manufacturing industry has also done well since 1980. Our manufacturing productivity growth has been at the top of the league of industrialised countries, and manufacturing output has increased since 1979. I repeat that that is in marked contrast to what happened under the previous Labour Government, when productivity was stagnant and output fell.

Mr. Bellingham

Will the Minister find time today to consider the food manufacturers in my constituency, including Campbell Soups and Master Foods, a division of Mars, which I visited on Monday? Those two companies have expanded and have played a part in reducing unemployment in my constituency, since the general election, by 32 per cent. Does he agree with me that had the Government signed up to the social chapter and brought in the panoply of regulations and red tape, as the Opposition want, that would not have happened?

Mr. Oppenheim

My hon. Friend is absolutely right. In the 1970s, international companies such as those he mentioned were falling over themselves to move production from England. General Motors and Ford were moving production out of England, and the Germans would not buy GM or Ford cars that were made in United Kingdom plants. The opposite is now true: GM and Ford are again exporting massive numbers of cars. The Japanese have come into the market in a very big way, and inward investment has been one of the great driving forces in the transformation of British manufacturing industry.

Mrs. Anne Campbell

Is not the abysmal performance by manufacturing industry in this country due to the fact that we have not invested sufficiently, particularly in training? Is it not true that we have the lowest proportion of young people in full-time education of any industrialised country, apart from Turkey?

Mr. Oppenheim

The hon. Lady is absolutely right about the importance of education and human capital in competitiveness. She will no doubt be glad to hear that the proportion of young people who are in full-time education or training is two and a half times what it was in 1979. She will no doubt also be delighted to hear that, in the past year, manufacturing investment increased by 11.5 per cent., and that investment in machinery increased by 15.5 per cent.