§ Mr. Thorntonasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will state the quantity of imported non-wool fabric bought by Government purchasing Departments in each of the three years 1964, 1965 and 1966; and what percentage of the total purchases this represented in each year.
§ Mr. DiamondPursuant to my reply of 7th July [OFFICIAL REPORT, Vol. 749, c.298], following is the information:
1964 1965 1966 Quantity, in thousand linear yards, of imported non-wool fabric purchased by Government Departments and the General Post Office 447 1,189 4,263 Percentage of the total quantity purchased represented by the above imported quantity 1.2% 2.7% 12.4% The imports were mostly of unfinished fabrics for finishing in the United Kingdom.