§ Mr. Lawsonasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) what is his estimate of the contribution of North Sea oil to the current account balance of payments out-turn for the first half of 1978;
(2) if he will publish a table showing, for each half year from the second half of 1970 to the first half of 1978 (a) the current account balance of payments out-turn, (b) the contribution of North Sea oil to that outturn, (c) the contribution of North Sea gas to that outturn, (d) the combined contribution of North Sea oil and North Sea gas to that outturn, and (e) the contribution of all other factors to that outturn.
§ Mr. Robert Sheldon, pursuant to his replies [Official Reports, 19th and 20th July 1978], gave the following answer:
The information available is as follows: