Mr. Nicholas Wintertonasked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how much was spent on British goods in the United Kingdom in the first quarter of 1983 compared with the first quarter of 1982.
§ Mr. ButcherThe nearest readily available equivalent to spending on home-produced goods in the United Kingdom is United Kingdom manufacturers' domestic sales, information about which is available up to the fourth quarter of 1982. In that period United Kingdom manufacturers' sales, in current prices, were 8 per cent. higher than in the same quarter of 1981 and 3 per cent. greater than in the first quarter of 1982.