§ Mr. Croninasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will publish figures comparing industrial production during the last three quarters of 1977 and the first quarter of 1978.
§ Mr. Denzil DaviesThe all-industries index of industrial production in the first quarter of 1978 based on 1970=100 and seasonally adjusted, is provisionally estimated at 103.6; it was some 1¼ per cent. above the average index value of 102.2 in the last three quarters of 1977.
The use for some industries of series which measure deliveries or sales rather than production can result in the index overstating or understating the level of output. The appropriate adjustment for this effect is not yet available for the first quarter of 1978 but, on the basis of partial information, it is estimated that the increase in the level of output between the last three quarters of 1977 and the first quarter of 1978 was marginally below that indicated by the all-industries index.