§ Mr. Sproatasked the Secretary of State for Scotland what is the best estimate he has made of Scotland's balance of trade deficit in the latest 12 month period for which figures are available; and what are the major components of this deficit.
§ Mr. William RossNo official estimates of Scotland's balance of trade are available, and any such estimate is subject to considerable margins of error. But figures covering the period 1961–1971 have recently been published in a study by economists at the University of Dun-622W dee. These suggest that Scotland ran a balance of trade deficit, throughout the period, of the order of 10 per cent. of gross domestic product.