§ Mr. Leightonasked the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food whether he will circulate in the Official Report a table converting the figures of output per head given in his written reply of 27 July into a continuous series; and if he will also give the corresponding figures for manufacturing industry less food, drink and tobacco.
§ Mr. Buchanan-SmithI regret that, because of changes in the coverage of the basic data, it is not possible to provide a continuous series for labour productivity in agriculture since 1954, except at disproportionate cost. The differences between the two series quoted in my right hon. Friend's reply to the hon. Member on 27 July are not, however, very significant for this purpose. Figures of net output per head for manufacturing excluding food, drink and tobacco are not available but indices for manufacturing as a whole are given in table 7.2 of the Central Statistical Office's "Monthly Digest of Statistics" of which copies are in the Library of the House. [Vol. 971, c.717–18.]