§ Mr. Austin MitchellTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the extent to which the deterioration in the trade balance since 1975 is due to lack of productive capacity in British industry; and if he will name the sectors in which British suppliers have been unable to meet demand for this reason.
§ Mr. Norman LamontThe rise in the United Kingdom trade deficit in 1988 and 1989 reflected very strong growth of domestic demand from both companies and the personal sector, which outstripped industry's capacity to meet it. Strong growth in investment has begun to produce additional capacity which will enable British industry to meet more of the demands made on it. Industry has already exploited export opportunities. In 1989, exports of manufactures, excluding erratics, increased by 10½ per cent., the fastest growth rate since 1973. Manufactured exports, excluding erratics, in the current year to date are 10¾ per cent. higher than in the corresponding period last year.
CBI surveys suggest that an historically high proportion of firms across all sectors experienced capacity constraints during 1988 and 1989.
§ Mr. DewarTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) what was the annual index of(a) total industrial production and construction and (b) manufacturing industry for the United Kingdom in each year from 1970 to the most recent year for which figures are available;
(2) what was the annual index of (a) gross domestic product (output) and (b) manufacturing output for the United Kingdom in each year from 1970 to the most recent year for which figures are available.
§ Mr. Norman LamontFor the answers to these questions I refer the hon. Member to table 1.5 of "United Kingdom National Accounts", 1990 edition, otherwise known as the CSO Blue Book and to the Scottish Office news release 0801 of 15 May 1990. The former gives separate annual output index numbers for the years 1968 to 1989, for each of construction, manufacturing, and total production as well as the output based gross domestic product index. The latter includes the available figures for an index of construction and production for the United Kingdom.
§ Mr. Austin MitchellTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what representations he has made to Chancellor Kohl concerning the adverse effect on other countries of the German surplus on visible trade; and if he will publish in theOfficial Report a table showing the amount of that surplus in terms of dollars for (a) the United Kingdom, (b) the United States of America and (c) Japan in 1979, 1985, 1989 and the current year to date.
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§ Mr. Norman LamontMy right hon. Friend the Chancellor has made no such representations. The information for 1989 and the current year is available in recent editions of "IMF Directions of Trade Statistics". Figures for 1985 and 1979 are available in the "IMF Direction of Trade Statistics Yearbook" for 1989 and 1986 respectively.