§ Mr. Churchillasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what was the index of industrial production for February 1978, taking February 1974 as 100; and what is the index for the most recent month for which figures are available and for the comparable month in 1973.
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§ Mr. Joel Barnett:The table below shows the all-industries index of industrial production for each of the months specified in the Question, seasonally adjusted and resealed to February 1974=100.
INDEX OF INDUSTRIAL PRODUCTION Reseated to February 1974=100 Seasonally adjusted— September 1973 108.0 February 1974 100.0 February 1978 105.6 September 1978 108.0 The use for some industries of series which measure deliveries or sales rather than production can result in the index overstating or understating the level of output, and makes measurement from the early months of 1974—when production was disrupted by the three-day working week—particularly hazardous. Adjustments for this effect, however, are available only quarterly and in arrears of the latest index data. The quarterly data after adjustment, resealed to 1st quarter 1974=100, are given in the table below.
INDEX OF INDUSTRIAL PRODUCTION: IMPLIED LEVEL OF OUTPUT Reseated to 1st quarter 1974=100 Seasonally adjusted— 2nd quarter 1973 108.0 3rd quarter 1973 108.4 1st quarter 1974 100.0 2nd quarter 1978 110.0 3rd quarter 1978 Not available