§ 2.43 p.m.
Earl Alexander of TunisMy Lords, I beg leave to ask the Question which stands in my name on the Order Paper.
The Question was as follows:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what is the value of export orders so far won by British companies in the current financial year; and how this compares with the previous period.
§ Lord LyellMy Lords, as data on export orders are collected from only part of British industry, no overall figure of their value is currently available.
Earl Alexander of TunisMy Lords, while thanking my noble friend for that Answer, and in view of the importance of foreign trade, may I ask him to say what the present balance of payments is?
§ Lord LyellMy Lords, the latest figures available, for 1980, show that the trade surplus for the year for the United Kingdom was in the region of 7½ billion dollars, which we believe compares very favourably with the comparative surplus figure for the United States, of 3.7 billion dollars—while Japan and West Germany had deficits of approximately 11 and 16 billion dollars respectively—and we think that is a great success story.
§ Lord LeatherlandMy Lords, may I ask the Minister to take the trouble to give those figures in pounds and pence? We are not yet an American colony.
§ Lord LyellMy Lords, I will write to the noble Lord with the current figure as of today's date. I would point out that they are approximate figures of very large sums of money. Nevertheless, I will do my best to see if I can obtain a sterling equivalent for the noble Lord.
§ Lord Davies of LeekMy Lords, do the figures given by the Minister include our invisible exports, which are of paramount importance to us whatever Government are in power?
§ Lord LyellYes, my Lords, so far as the United Kingdom figures are concerned.
§ Lord SoamesMy Lords, did I understand my noble friend to say that he had figures for only certain sections of British industry for the current financial year? Presumably those are the same sections for which the Government had figures for the previous financial year. May I ask my noble friend to compare one with the other, as the Question asks?
§ Lord LyellMy Lords, to elucidate on the first part of the main Question, data on particular export orders in value terms are available in the United Kingdom only on merchant shipping, but there are indicators of new export orders placed with engineering, and they are published monthly. Those two are the only reasonably precise figures we can give at the moment.
§ Lord SoamesHow do they compare?
Lord Bruce of DoningtonMy Lords, the Minister was kind enough to quote the balance-of-payments figures. May I ask him to say how much of the very welcome surplus to which he referred has been due to oil exports?
§ Lord LyellThat is rather wide of the original Question, my Lords, but I shall endeavour to find out and write to the noble Lord.
§ Lord SoamesMy Lords, may I press my noble friend to compare whatever figures he has for the current financial year with the figures for the previous financial year?
§ Lord LyellMy Lords, the figures I have are for 1980. I am afraid that I could not, without notice, compare them with those for 1979.
§ Lord SoamesThat is what the Question asks, my Lords.
§ Lord LyellMy Lords, having given the figures for 1980, I will inquire into the relevant figures for 1979 and write to my noble friend. The 1981 figures are not yet available.