§ Mrs. McKayasked the President of the Board of Trade if he will publish in the OFFICIAL REPORT the annual cost of importing raw materials for the paper and board industry, and the annual rate at which this cost is increasing; and whether this rate is in excess of the national rate of expansion.
§ Mr. DarlingThe following is the information:
UNITED KINGDOM IMPORTS OF RAW MATERIALS FOR THE PAPER AND BOARD INDUSTRY* Value Year £'000 1960 … … … … 109,138 1961 … … … … 105,997 1962 … … … … 94,433 1963 … … … … 100,794 1964 … … … … 120,928 * Pulp and waste paper (excluding dissolving grades of chemical wood pulp), esparto (including albardin grass and diss) and pulpwood. Over the period 1960–64, the average annual rate of increase in these imports was 2½ per cent., which was lower than the average annual rate of increase in the gross domestic product.