§ Mr. Hoyleasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will publish in theOfficial 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 and their country of origin.
§ Mr. JohnInformation about purchases by the Home Office during the last three financial years of textile materials spun and woven overseas is as follows:
Value£ Percentage of total purchases(by value) 1974–75 … … 293,558 30 1975–76 … … 359,912 15 1976–77 … … 1,004,396 38 Countries of origin as stated by the suppliers were Bangladesh, Brazil, Hong Kong, India, Republic of Ireland, United States of America and Yugoslavia. Material is supplied in a variety of widths and it is not practicable to express quantities by the square yard without a disproportionate amount of work.