§ Mr. Burdenasked the Secretary of State for Defence what was the total value of sales made by or through the influence of his Defence Sales Department for the year 11th May 1966 to 10th May 1967 and each subsequent year.
§ Mr. JohnThere are no figures available for the period 11th May 1966 to 10th May 1967. Records are maintained on a financial year basis and the figures of total estimated defence exports in recent financial years have been as follows:
£ million 1966–67 … … … 152 1967–68 … … … 165 1968–69 … … … 214 1969–70 … … … 227 1970–71 … … … 235 1971–72 … … … 242 1972–73 … … … 257 1973–74* … … … 400 The defence sales organisation is responsible for assisting industry in the promotion of exports of defence equipment but it is not possible to state what proportion of the total orders have been obtained by or through its influence. >* Provisional.