§ Mr. Lawsonasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Written Answer to the hon. Member for Blaby on 9th March, and pending the publication by the OECD of complete figures for 1976, if he will state the percentage increase in productivity in the United Kingdom between 1973 and 1976, the comparable percentage increase in productivity in each major OECD country for which figures are available over the same period, and the increase in United Kingdom productivity expressed as a percentage of the increase in productivity in each of the major OECD countries for which figures are available between 1973 and 1976.
§ Mr. Denzil DaviesThe measure of productivity conventionally used in the United Kingdom—that is, output per head derived from the output measure of gross domestic product and the employed labour force—fell by around ½ per cent. between 1973 and 1976. Information comparing the United Kingdom figure with each major OECD country for the period requested is not readily available. To ensure compatibility between the data for the periods 1973 and 1976 for individual countries, preparation of the information must await the receipt of the OECD annual publications "National Accounts of OECD countries 1976, Volume 1, Main Aggregates" and "Labour Force Statistics 1965–1976".