§ Mr. Leeasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will give (a) the current account balance of payments for every quarter since 1974 and (b) the contribution to the current account balance of payments of North sea oil and gas exploitation in every quarter since 1974 or in every year since 1974, whichever is readily available.
§ Mr. Bruce-GardyneFigures for the current account of the balance of payments are published in the "Monthly Review of External Trade Statistics." Table A1 of the February edition and the 1982 annual review contain the current account figures requested.
Identifiable balance of payments entries associated with the development and production of United Kingdom continental shelf oil and gas are shown in table 13 of the balance of payments article in Economic Trends, December 1982, and table 9.1 of the "United Kingdom Balance of Payments 1982"—Pink Book. However, an estimate of the contribution of North sea oil and gas to the balance of payments would need to be based on an estimate of what the current account would have been in the absence of North sea oil and gas. No such estimates can reasonably be prepared.