§ 18. Mr. Bestasked the Secretary of State for Industry what are the latest figures for the level of competitiveness of British industry; and what were the figures for a similar period in the previous year.
§ Mr. ButcherThe most recent IMF figures for actual relative unit labour costs are for the second quarter of this year. These show that the competitiveness of United Kingdom manufacturing had improved by about 9 per cent. compared with the same period in the previous year.