HC Deb 24 October 1978 vol 955 cc893-5W
Mr. Lawson

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will provide a table showing for each of the last five years (a) the number of people employed in the engineering industry, motor vehicle industry, the whisky industry, and in the financial sector, (b) the gross overseas earnings of each of these sectors, and (c) the net overseas earnings of each of these sectors.

Mr. Denzil Davies

The answer to the first part of the question is as follows:

EMPLOYEES IN EMPLOYMENT: UNITED KINGDOM
Engineeing Motor vehicles Whisky Thousands Financial sector
1973 1,935 510 n.a. 658
1974 1,980 497 n.a. 681
1975 1,896 457 n.a. 691
1976 1,818 448 n.a. 688
1977 1,829 478 n.a. 699

Source: Annual Census of Employment for 1973–1976; quarterly series for Great Britain Northern Ireland figures from DMS Gazette No. 1.

Notes:

  1. (a) The figures for 1977 are provisional.
  2. (b) Self-employed persons are excluded.
  3. (c) The industries have been defined in terms of the Standard Industrial Classification as follows:

Engineering: Orders VII, VIII, and IX.

Motor vehicles: Minimum list heading 381.

Financial sector: Minimum list headings 860, 861 and 862.

There is no separate information on the whisky industry.

n.a. = Not available.

The information asked for in the second and third parts of the Question can only be estimated for years when full input-output tables are compiled. Information from the tables for 1973, the only year so far covered in the period referred to, is as follows:

GROSS AND NET OVERSEAS EARNINGS 1973
£ million
Engineering Motor vehicles
Gross export earnings 2,945 1,028
Payments for imports 1,075 284
Net earnings 1,870 744

Source: Input-output tables for the United Kingdom 1973.

Notes:

  1. (a) The industries are defined as in the table on employment.
  2. (b) The figures exclude overseas receipts and payments of interest, profits and dividends.
  3. (c) Only direct imports and exports are included.

Directly comparable information for the whisky industry and for the financial sector are not available, but figures for

Relative export prices* Relative export profitability† Import price competitiveness‡
1973—4th quarter … … 100.0 100.0 100.0
1974—1st quarter … … 101.7 100.6 103.5
2nd quarter … … 103.4 101.0 107.6
3rd quarter … … 103.2 100.1 107.7
4th quarter … … 103.5 99.6 108.8
1975—1st quarter … … 106.5 98.4 107.4
2nd quarter … … 106.1 100.0 108.3
3rd quarter … … 107.3 98.6 105.1
4th quarter … … 108.3 97.9 103.4
1976—1st quarter … … 110.4 97.8 103.0
2nd quarter … … 103.6 96.2 99.6
3rd quarter … … 104.7 94.7 98.2
4th quarter … … 99.8 93.2 95.7
1977—1st quarter … … 104.8 95.3 99.5
2nd quarter … … 108.7 95.6 102.0
3rd quarter … … 110.5 95.5 101.8
4th quarter … … 114.5 95.5 102.2
1978—1st quarter … … 117.7|| 95.8 103.4
2nd quarter … … 111.4§ 95.0 101.5
3rd quarter … … n.a. 94.4 101.4
*Ratio of United Kingdom unit value index for exports of manufactured goods to a weighted average of competitors export prices. An increase in the index represents a deterioration in United Kingdom competitiveness.
† Ratio of the United Kingdom wholesale price index for the output of all manufacturing industry (other than the food, drink and tobacco industry) to the United Kingdom unit value index for exports of manufactures. An increase in the index represents a decline in the relative profitability of exports.
‡ Ratio of the United Kingdom wholesale price index for the output of all manufacturing industry (other than the food, drink and tobacco manufacturing industry) to the United Kingdom unit value index for imports of finished manufactures. An increase in the index represents a decline in United Kingdom competitiveness.
§ Treasury estimate.
║ Provisional.