HC Deb 28 July 1983 vol 46 c571W
Mr. Austin Mitchell

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what is his estimate of capacity working in British industry as a whole and in the principal sectors.

Mr. Butcher

Estimates of capacity working in British industry are not available. However, in its quarterly industrial trends survey, the CBI publishes figures for the percentage of firms working below capacity in manufacturing in total and for the principal sectors. A copy of the CBI report on the latest survey, which relates to four months ended April of this year, is available in the House of Commons Library.