§ Mr. Hoyleasked the Secretary of State for Energy if he will publish in the Official Reportdetails, for the past three years, of the percentage of his Department's textile purchases spun and woven overseas, the square yards represented by such purchases, the value of the purchases, their country of origin and of any directives issued by him to nationalised industries within his area of responsibility to buy British textiles.
§ Mr. EadieAlthough no precise figures are available, direct purchases of textiles by my Department are thought to be negligible.
I have made no approaches to the energy nationalised industries about textile purchases in particular, but they are encouraged to buy British wherever practicable.