HL Deb 07 May 1957 vol 203 cc418-9WA
VISCOUNT THURSO

asked Her Majesty's Government the value of the following visible and invisible exports of the British Aircraft industry during each of the years, 1952, 1953, 1954, 1955 and 1956:—

  1. (a) Aircraft and parts;
  2. (b) Aero engines and parts; including in both cases electrical parts and appliances, tyres, and aeronautical instruments;
  3. (c) Royalty payments for the manufacture of aircraft and aero engines abroad.

LORD MANCROFT

The information requested is as follows:—

— 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956
£ £ £ £ £
Aeroplanes and parts thereof (excluding engines and electrical parts and appliances) 35,271,167 42,275,545 31,402,998 39,654,386 71,759,067
Aeronautical instruments and apparatus 664,739 1,172,731 1,151,940 1,367,419 1,428,657
Electrical appliances for aeroplanes —* 1,934,289 2,084,749 2,259,902 2,682,209
Tyres (outer covers) for aircraft (exported separately) 522,515 422,041 610,666 648,293 687,821
(a) Total 36,458,421 45,804,606 35,250,353 43,930,000 76,557,754
(b) Aeroplane engines and parts thereof 8,723,272 20,336,943 20,859,521 22,277,022 27,902,808
(c) Royalty payments for manufacture of aircraft and aero-engines abroad (including lump-sum fees for the granting of licences) 2,562,000 4,240,000 4,264,000 6,736,000 7,007,000
* Not separately recorded.

Her Majesty's Government receive part of the above sums in the form of a levy on commercial sales at home and abroad, which is designed to offset the Government's own expenditure on developing the aircraft or engines concerned. Our receipts from this source are estimated at £5.6 million in 1957–58.

I think the noble Viscount will agree that this represents a most creditable achievement on the part of the industry.