§ Mr. Lewisasked the President of the Board of Trade if he will give the national production figures for the year preceeding and the six years following the outbreak of the First and Second World Wars.
§ Mr. P. ThorneycroftI assume that the hon. Member is referring to index numbers of production. There are no official116W figures available for the year preceding and the six years following the outbreak of the First World War. The present interim index of production is based on production in 1946, and details covering the period from 1946 are published in the Monthly Digest of Statistics prepared by the Central Statistical Office and published by His Majesty's Stationery Office.
Evidence available suggests that production in 1938 was not very different from 1946. No figures are available for the period 1939 to 1945.