§ Mr. Craigenasked the Secretary of State for Trade what has been the annual investment in manufacturing industry in the United Kingdom for each of the past five years for which figures are available; if he will express these figures as a percentage of gross national product; and what has been the total for both private and public sector investment.
§ Mr. MeacherThe figures are as follows:
(1) Capital expenditure by manufacturing industry £ million 1970 prices (2) Column (1) as percentage of Gross National Product at 1970 Market Prices 1972 1,739 3.2 1973 1,753 3.0 1974 2,028 3.5 1975 1,745 3.1 1976 1,659 2.9 January-September1977 seasonally adjusted 1,306 3.1 No split between public and private sectors is available, but some indication of trends in private sector investment is given by excluding investment by the iron and steel industry. Figures for this industry were published in Trade and Industry, 6th January 1978.