§ 45. Sir H. Williamsasked the Prime Minister if he will consider the desirability of reverting to the former practice under which Ministers when speaking in the country refrained from giving a summary of statistical returns before those returns had been presented to Parliament.
§ The Prime MinisterSo far as papers presented to Parliament generally are concerned, it is not, I think, the practice for their contents to be anticipated in Ministers' speeches before they have been presented to Parliament. If the hon. Member has in mind the custom which has been adopted of announcing certain trade figures prior to the publication of the Monthly Trade and Navigation Accounts, I would point out that the figures announced usually cover only the6W total imports and exports for the period concerned. As these total figures are available several days before the detailed Accounts, their early announcement has been generally welcomed by those interested.