HL Deb 28 April 1983 vol 441 cc1047-8

3.25 p.m.

Lord Orr-Ewing

My Lords, I beg leave to ask the Question standing in my name on the Order Paper.

The Question was as follows:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what in percentage terms was the improvement in competitiveness obtained by British Industry in the last period for which figures are available.

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of Health and Social Security (Lord Trefgarne)

My Lords, the most recent figures show an improvement of 15 per cent. in the cost competitiveness of British industry in the third quarter of 1982, compared with the first quarter in 1981.

Lord Orr-Ewing

My Lords, do not these encouraging figures confirm and endorse the views of the CBI that our manufacturing economy is now healthily on the move?

Lord Trefgarne

Yes, my Lords, I believe that they do; but, on the other hand, I do not believe that there is any room for complacency. Competitiveness is more than just price competitiveness. It includes such things as liability for delivery and liability for the products themselves after they have been delivered. Those latter points are more difficult to measure quantitatively but there is considerable anecdotal evidence that they, too, are being improved.

Lord Paget of Northampton

My Lords, is this not the sort of question to which one would expect as many answers as if one had inquired of accountants?

Lord Trefgarne

No, my Lords, that is not correct at all. The answer is given in the figures which I gave a moment ago.

Lord Jacques

My Lords, will the Minister bear in mind that many of us are concerned about our competitiveness as a nation? If one took into account the cost of unemployment I doubt whether we are more competitive than we have been for a long time.

Lord Trefgarne

My Lords, I am not sure that I quite follow the gist of the noble Lord's supplementary question. The important thing in this context is to get British industry moving effectively in world export markets despite the very considerable difficulties of the world recession which industry has faced. I think that industry is achieving that.

Lord Ezra

My Lords, does the noble Lord agree that in the very desirable improvement in the competitiveness of British industry the basic industries have also played their part? These basic industries play an essential role in the revival of the British economy and should be regarded in that sense.

Lord Trefgarne

My Lords, the noble Lord is, in general, quite right. However, we need to be careful not to support industries whose products are no longer required.

Lord Orr-Ewing

My Lords, has there not been an encouraging improvement in capital investment? Therefore, would it not be logical that in the coming months and quarters there should be a further increase in productivity as this machinery comes into use? Would not this further increase our competitiveness in the export markets?

Lord Trefgarne

My Lords, my noble friend is right that capital investment is now beginning to show a modest increase. Like him I too hope that these investments will shortly be bearing fruit.

Lord Jenkins of Putney

My Lords, is the noble Lord aware that had a Labour Government been in power the CBI figures would have been headlined, "Two-thirds of British industry believes things will stay the same or get worse"?

Lord Trefgarne

My Lords, if a Labour Government had still been in power we would have been down the pan long ago.

Viscount Trenchard

My Lords, does not the arrest of the decline in the volume of manufactured goods, and now the signs of modest growth in a static world market, prove that we are, overall, competitive for the first time in two decades? Those two decades were in the 1960s and 1970s when we lost half our world market share.

Lord Trefgarne

My Lords, my noble friend is right. If one looks back as far as he does, the position then was perhaps even better than it is now.

Lord Wallace of Coslany

My Lords, the noble Lord mentioned the expression "down the pan". This is a new phrase to me which I do not understand. Can the noble Lord kindly explain in decent terms what it means?

Lord Trefgarne

My Lords, the meaning of that expression did not appear to be lost on the noble Lord's friends.