§ Mr. Austin MitchellTo ask the President of the Board of Trade what was the change in the volume of United Kingdom sales of mechanical engineering products between 1990 and 1992; what were the corresponding figures for Germany, France and Italy; if he will publish a table showing the value and volume of United Kingdom output, imports, exports and consumption of mechanical engineering products in 1970, 1979, 1990 and 1992 together with the numbers employed in the United Kingdom industry; and when he expects United Kingdom output to reach the 1990 levels.
§ Mr. NeedhamAvailable information on the annual output of the mechanical engineering industry in United Kingdom, France, Germany and Italy can be obtained from the Eurostat CRONOS database, which can be accessed in the Library of the House.
Figures of United Kingdom sales, exports and imports from which consumption can be derived, are publishing in the "Business Monitor" series covering the mechanical engineering industries. Compatible information on the volume of trade, and, therefore, consumption is not readily available. Employment figures are published in the "Annual Abstract of Statistics". Copies of these publications are in the Library of the House.
My Department does not forecast industrial production.