§ Mr. Austin MitchellTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether it is the duty of Her Majesty's economic and commercial representatives abroad to transmit to the competent departments economic information on trade flows, prices, employment and other aspects of competitiveness as soon as possible after it has been released by the Governments to which they are accredited.
§ Mr. GoodladBritish embassies and high commissions are required to report on economic developments in the countries they cover. The frequency with which a particular post reports and the type of reporting it provides is governed by factors including the size and staffing of the post, which itself reflects United Kingdom's economic and commercial interests, and by the amount and quality of information available. Posts in the United Kingdom's main overseas markets would normally report information on trade flows, prices and employment at least once a month.