§ Mr. Sternasked the Secretary of State for Transport if he will publish figures covering the last five years in respect of major British ports showing (i) numbers of ships movements in the categories of container, bulk, cereal and general cargoes, and (ii) values of cargoes imported and exported.
§ Mr. Michael SpicerI regret that the information requested is not all readily available. Table 4.19 in "Ports Statistics 1985", a copy of which is in the Library, shows the numbers of tankers, ro-ro vessels, container vessels and other dry cargo vessels entering each port in 1985. Table 4.16 in the same publication gives the value of imports and exports at each major port. The shipping movement data are not available in my Department for earlier years and I refer my hon. Friend to Lloyd's maritime information service, which supplied the 1985 data. Earlier import and export value data were published by the British Ports Association in its "Quarterly Statistical Abstract of the UK Ports Industry".