§ Mr. Platts-Millsasked the President of the Board of Trade what was the value of the spare parts imported from the U.S.A. in the months September, October and November, 1948, for the purposes of assembly into complete cash registers and of servicing cash registers imported before the war, respectively.
§ Mr. H. WilsonParts imported for the purpose of assembly into complete cash registers are not separately distinguished in the trade returns from parts imported for servicing purposes. The value of all cash register parts (other than empty ribbon spools. 235W parts of such spools and inked ribbons) imported from the U.S.A. in September and October, 1948, was £19,000 and £24,000, respectively. The figures for November are not yet available.
§ Mr. Platts-Millsasked the President of the Board of Trade how many permits have been issued for the importation of spare parts from the U.S.A. for assembly into cash registers; on what date and for what amount the first permit was granted; and when it is proposed to bring this practice to a close so as to reduce unnecessary dollar expenditure.
§ Mr. BottomleyThe information asked for in the first part of the hon. Member's Question is not available. Every effort is being made to establish the manufacture of cash registers in this country as speedily as possible. This is a long process particularly as the programme includes models only recently developed. The importation meanwhile of parts for assembly represents a substantial saving in dollars compared with the import of complete machines