§ Mr. Lawsonasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) if he will give details of the independent forecasters referred to in paragraph 11 on page 13 of the Financial Statement and Budget Report 1978–79; and if he will set out details of their estimates for the period to mid-1979 of the United Kingdom's propensity to import and the increases in volume terms in imports in goods and services, gross domestic product and personal consumption;
(2) what is the middle of the range of forecasts of the growth of the volume of imports of goods and services over the
LBS NIESR Phillips and Drew Average FSBR 1978 … … … … 21.2 21.3 21.1 21.2 21.2 1979H1 … … … … 21.8 21.7 21.7 21.7 21.9 The growth in the volumes of imported goods and services, consumers' expenditure and gross domestic product in the
RATE OF GROWTH (PER CENT.) IN VOLUME TERMS ON PREVIOUS HALF YEAR Imports of goods and services Consumers' expenditure Gross domestic product LBS NIESR PD LBS NIESR PD LBS NIESR PD 1978H1 … … … …… 3.4 5.5 6.2 3.0 1.6 2.8 0.9 1.6 0.5 1978H2 … … … … 4.2 3.7 2.4 1.8 3.3 2.8 2.2 1.9 2.8 1979H1 … … … … 4.5 2.3 4.5 1.5 0.9 1.2 1.2 1.2 0.2
§ Mr. Lawsonasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether the Treasury's main forecast of the economic prospects to mid-1979, as set out in the Financial Statement and Budget Report 1978–79, page 4, embodies the Treasury's central estimates of the increase in volume terms of exports and imports.
§ Mr. Joel BarnettAs explained in the accompanying text, the forecasts set out in the Financial Statement and Budget Report represent the Government's expectation of how the economy may develop up to mid-1979.